B r o k e n P i e c e s
by Wakaran a i xx
Summary: Their lives were propelled on a fated course the moment the four of them met. A story of the events that transpired in KHII from the Twilight Town gang's POV, starting one week before the start of the game. Roxette,Namiku. Spoilers from the entire series.
1. Sowed Seeds

** Broken Pieces**

_A Kingdom Hearts II Story_

**b y**: Wakaran a i xx

** author' s notes: **Ah, I've been craving wanting to write this since I was mid-way through playing Kingdom Hearts II. Now that I finished, I want to finish writing it even more! This story will mainly focus on Roxas x Olette ( Oh, how it pains me to use the English names. I fear that if I stick with their Japanese names, however, no one will really know who I'm taking about ) since I love those two together. As well, I don't feel that the Twilight Town gang got enough coverage in KHII. That's a big no-no.

The story will show some other characters, as this chapter shows, but will mainly be about Roxas, Olette, Hayner, and Pence through KHII as a preset to a Post-KHII RP I hope to start based on this story. Some events may be changed; we'll see how it goes. The story begins a week before the game, and so that makes it just about two weeks before Sora's memory restoration. It will be filled with spoilers, so read at your own risk! Above all, enjoy.

** Disclaimer:** I, unfortunately, do not own the Kingdom Hearts series. Square Enix and Disney have that right.

* * *

** Chapter I:** Sowed Seeds

Past the chattering voices and crowded avenues of the Tram Common and beyond the quiet stillness of The Woods lies a house; though, considering the sheer size of the courtyard and the even greater length of the front of the house, it was more like a mansion. It was larger than any of the other houses in the extensive town, anyway. No one was sure who owned it originally as it had been abandoned for several decades by then. Dubbed, and quite creatively so, 'The Old Mansion' by the town's children, it has been recently said that someone could be seen in the front left window.

But with kids being kids, too afraid to prove the rumor as valid and yet too full of pride to admit that fear and reject the ludicrous idea, it has become one of the town's 'Seven Wonders', coupled with several other oddities that had been occurring in the world in the past few days. While the other 'Wonders' were definitely an eyebrow-raiser for the skeptical, no one knew how right they were about the girl that could be seen from the very lonely second floor window.

In fact, it was just like a quaint little family lived amongst the rumble that was The Old Mansion. Hidden deep below the structure, though from whom they were hiding so securely from was unknown, was a different world, so to speak. Unlike the other floor or rooms of the building, the basement was quite technologically advanced, having a brand-new yet rock-cold feeling about each subsequent room. At the end of this trail of rooms was a single room that was so pure white in color, and of light, that it could blind a person at first glance.

It was in this room, in front of a single pod that stood in the center, that the said mysterious girl spent most of her time. Partly by force and partly by her own free will, the girl worked tirelessly, drawing pictures and working a magic only she could perform. As much as she longed to piece together the broken pieces of memory of the young boy encased inside the pod that she herself had destroyed no less, the blue-eyed, blonde-haired fifteen-year-old girl could not help but feel for the lives that she was now responsible for wrecking in the process.

The resonating sound of the Clock Tower's bell reached the girl where she sat—it was now three in the morning, though if one looked outside, the sky was locked with the orange, yellow, and pink colors of a sun that was neither rising or setting; a sky of twilight. Like the darkened, starry skies Traverse Town, forever stuck in darkness while still having a day and a night, the world fittingly known as Twilight Town was perpetually trapped between the dark and the light, though time was no such prisoner.

Gently closing the opened sketchbook, a colored picture of the pod-sleeping boy falling headfirst in a sea of water slowly fading from view as she did so, the girl in the plain white dress sighed, bowing her head before standing and placing the book down where she was just sitting down previously. She was finally making some progress in her work, though she had just barely begun. She had managed to unchain the links of false memory she had placed in his heart, but restoring the boy's original memory hit a brick wall after that.

When _he_ found out about the delay, he demanded that the boy's other half be brought back from his ill freedom to make the boy complete again. Retrieving him was no easy task, and hiding him afterward only got more complicated. So many people were victimized for his desires. She probably would have forgiven him for everything he had done if he did it from the goodness of his heart and with the best of intentions. However, she was sure the man was currently being fueled by revenge, and so all his acts were of anything but good wishes, and were selfish and one-sided.

Walking the corridors out of the pod room that led to the computer room, the girl closed her eyes again as she walked past the man in red who sat before the numerous monitors, meaning no hate towards the black-robed person who stood by the other man with his arms crossed. The hooded person nodded a silent hello in her direction as she passed by, and just as the girl reached the automatic door, the man wrapped in the red bandages spoke.

"How goes Sora's restoration, Naminé?"

Naminé slowed to a stop, though made no movement to turn towards the voice that spoke to her. She could feel the hooded man flinch his head slightly at the words, obviously interested in the reply she had to give. Naminé glanced at the main monitor from the corner of her eyes, where the words 'Restoration at 1%' flashed repeatedly. It was apparent that he knew how it was going, but perhaps it would have sounded different, better, if she gave a personal citation on the progress.

Moving her gaze to look at the door in front of her, which had closed when no one passed through it, Naminé responded. "I just began, but it seems that obtaining _him_ and creating this copy of Twilight Town was the correct route to take. I should have no problems from here."

The man snuffed at her words, being able to pick up the subtle hints she was leaving behind. It seemed that she was still upset that he had turned the world into data and formed a second Twilight Town to place the Nobody in while they restored Sora's memories…still distressed that he had her alter all of their memories as well. "It had to be done, Naminé. You should know that very well. The XIII Order—"

"Don't you care that you're tampering with their lives…with _his _ life? You can't tell me you're doing this for the good of all worlds!" Naminé shouted suddenly, turned around to face him with a scornful look written on the features of her pale face. Sora's other half…his friends…his happiness…_their_ happiness, being together. She understood quite well that Sora needed his memories back; she had owed him that much after all she did, among other reasons. Nevertheless, Naminé didn't want to destroy any more lives. She knew Sora would feel the same way, too. "There has to be another—"

"There _is _no other way, Naminé. If there was, surely I would have taken it. It is the fate of a Nobody, in any case." The man paused, letting his last words simmer in the air and sink into the girl's mind. He directed that last sentence to more then just Sora's other half. When she did or said nothing, the man dressed in red continued, figuring she knew what, or rather whom, he was referring to. "Do not do anything reckless. If you jeopardize Sora's process—"

"DiZ," the robed man said tensely in a deep voice, his brief, single word cutting off the other's completely. Before the interrupter could continue himself, Naminé butted in, seemingly finding the words now.

"I shall do what I believe is right," she simply replied to his subtle threat, neither agreeing to do nothing yet not saying she wasn't going to do anything, either. _I have_ _to make right the wrongdoings you have placed upon the people of this town. _ "But I will not endanger Sora's restoration. So do not worry." Naminé left the room before either of the men could respond, the sound that the gears of the automatic door made when closing after her filling the silence that now encompassed the hollow room.

Closing his eyes, though the action could not be seen due to the hood that covered his face, the robed man made his way towards the door, meaning to go after the girl. He understood where Naminé was coming from, but all he wanted was for Sora to be himself again. He went through so much trouble in retrieving Sora's other half, after all—and he gave up so much more than he would let the sleeping boy or anyone connected to him know. With that said, the sacrifices had to be made, as painful as they were…for him, for her, and for them.

"Keep an eye on her, will you?" DiZ called after him as he walked to the door. The man paused to show that he had heard him before walking through the door. A small smirk danced upon his lips at the order; he himself considered tampering with the situation a little, too. _Still, it'd be easier on them if they did not know the truth; especially for _him_. You may actually be making things worse than better, Naminé,_ the man thought, walking up the flight of stairs that connected the basement to the library and then walking out of the library to the second floor foyer.

Naminé was no where in sight, but the man knew where she went. There were only two rooms that the girl went to, after all. Walking along the hallway towards the left wing, the man stopped before the closed door for a moment before opening it. The room was as pure white as the pod room—it was no wonder the girl didn't seem to tan. Though considering the world was only of data, he guessed he shouldn't have been surprised. He couldn't understand how the girl could stand such brightness, or perhaps it was just him who was having trouble adjusting to the light.

Several pictures covered the four walls of the room, and even more littered the equally white table, chairs, and floor. When he was finally able to see and distinguish the girl from the rest of the room, he found her staring at a picture of a brown-haired boy beside a blonde-haired boy in a black robe, holding each other's hands. Letting out a small sigh, the robed man walked up to her, stopping a few feet behind her and glancing at the picture himself.

"…Is this really all right?" Naminé asked the man, never taking her eyes off the drawn picture before her. The man said nothing at first, trying to find the right words to say to comfort the girl. He knew she would do what she had to when the time came, but that didn't make any of it any easier.

"Everything will be okay in the end. I promise," the man finally said, trying to believe in his own words.

The girl smiled faintly and turned to face the man, looking up at him. "You Destiny Islanders sure like to make a lot of promises, y'know?"

Laughing slightly, the man shook his head and shrugged, lifting his hands up helplessly. "Hey, I can't help what that sap does. Always beating me to the punch, that guy," he joked, though the back of his heart beat once in pain for what, or more precisely who, he was really referring to.

Giggling herself, Naminé smiled more brightly and took a step closer towards the man. "Thank you, Riku. You're a good person. I wish you could see that. You should reconsider meeting up with them again after—"

"I told you, I can't," Riku answered angrily in voice that was not his own, looking away as his smile faded at what she was suggesting. "Not after all I did…not while looking like this…I am Riku no more."

Naminé's smile weakened at the painful words uttered, her sapphire eyes softening. For a fleeting moment, she wished that Sora's instability affected Riku the way it did everyone else connected to the keyblader—Riku remembered Sora, which was more than she could say for anyone else. He did so much for his friends, and was going to do so much for them, and yet he still couldn't forgive himself for a mistake that wasn't even his fault. "Riku…" Naminé whispered before standing toe to toe with him and lightly wrapping her arms around his tall, dark figure. "Everything will be okay in the end. I promise."

Amber eyes widened, though whether it was because of her words or the physical contact was not clear. She reminded him of Kairi; that was the first thing he realized when he met her at Castle Oblivion, and then just recently when he saw her again while he was working with DiZ. He still wasn't sure what it was about the witch that caused him to think of the redheaded girl he knew from back home. The sixteen-year-old promised himself that if he was going to fall for Naminé, it was going to be for who she was separately, not for whom she reminded him of. Any other way wouldn't be fair to either of them.

Feeling his body begin to relax after tensing from the hug, the edges of Riku's mouth went up slightly before dropping. Placing his gloved hands on her shoulders, he pulled her away to look at her. "You sure are original, aren't you?" he said with a smirk.

"Well, it sure is hard to make creative promises when you guys are taking all the good lines," Naminé responded with a grin.

Seeing her face lit up, Riku let out a laugh before removing his hands and taking a step back, turning so that he back was towards her. "But seriously, Naminé…" he trailed off, wanting to return to the original reason he went to her room in the first place. "Don't go telling him anything. I _will _ have to stop you if you do. You understand, right?"

When he heard nothing following his remarks, he turned his head to glance at her, finding Naminé staring back at him with unsmiling and somber eyes. She now turned her back, returning to her previous act of looking at the drawing. _Oh, Riku. You, too, are being controlled by your emotions. Is this what you want, or what DiZ wants?_

Figuring she wasn't going to answer him, Riku began walking towards the door, feeling remorseful that she wasn't going to listen to him, but not about to back down on his ground, either.

"…I understand."

Naminé's soft-spoken words caused him to come to a halt by the door. He knew that those words didn't mean that she would cooperate, but merely that she had heard him and was going to do it anyway. Closing his eyes to prevent him from doing or saying anything he might regret, Riku left, leaving the girl alone once again in the white room.

"Just once…" Naminé murmured, looking intently at the picture. She'll have to watch over him first before she tried anything. The Clock Tower bell rang once more.

It was now four in the morning.

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** author' s notes: **Wow…this chapter ended up being longer than I thought it would be xD And here I was thinking I can get into Roxas and the gang in this chapter ^^; But anyway, yay for some minor Riku x Naminé stuff!

I hope you all enjoy reading and please review!


	2. Owned

** author' s notes: **Hee, glad to see another fan of those pairings, paradiseGOGO! And just to note, I added a little bit to the first chapter. Just something I wanted to add about Riku.

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**Chapter II:** Owned

The ringing of the Clock Tower bell reached the walls of a blonde boy's room, but to the young man sleeping, only the sound of a heart beating filled his eardrums. Lying on his side with no covers, as it was the summer season in Twilight Town, his breaths became increasing shallow as his dreamless night soon turned into one that was filled with nothing but broken dreams jammed together. Unbeknownst to him, it was strangely a dream of a dream…or was it a dream? If it turned out not to be as such, which was it that was fake? So many questions stemmed from ** something so simple.**

xoxoxoxox

A brunette boy seemed to be immersed in water, floating in it calmly as if not worried that he shouldn't have been able to breathe as freely as he was. That was probably because the boy had just recently awakened from whatever slumber he had be in and was a little groggy about where he was. Before he knew it, he began to sink head first through the water.

…_having **weird** thoughts…_

…_**real**, or not…**?**_

The sea of water was like a bottomless pit. The boy had fallen a significant about of distance already, but it looked as if he still had so much more to go. Every so often, the image would flicker, and instead of it being the brunette boy, it would be him, a blonde boy, falling helplessly, and increasingly faster, through the water. Before he could think of why he was suddenly the one falling in place of the boy, the dream seemed to beat like it had its own heart, and the scenery changed.

It was now blindingly bright, and the brunette boy was no longer submerged in water but standing on a beach. Reflexively, the both of them raised a hand to shield their sapphire eyes from the light until they adjusted. When they did, they noticed a platinum-haired boy that looked to be a year older wading in the water. The brunette boy seemed to know the other, but as he took a step towards him, he was strangely surprised by the tide that washed up by his feet. Getting over the fact that he wasn't floating in it like he previously was, the boy looked up, where the image of the silver-haired person turning around as a giant wave was rising behind him flickered to another blonde boy wearing camouflage-like clothing before reverting back to the original man, who was now facing him and holding his hand out.

Blue eyes widened as the blonde boy recognized the fellow blondie and, as the brunette boy now, he ran forward to grasp his friend's hand and save him from the crashing waves. Unfortunately, he was too late, and they both were brought under the tide. Coming to a stop after tumbling head over heels in the water, he was surprised to see his friend standing before him as if unhurt and unfazed by the wall of water falling down upon them. To further prove that point, the friend held out his hand again, smirking as if he intended to save him this time than the other way around. The brunette boy reached out for him, but the water seemed to all of a sudden flow against him, pushing him farther and farther away.

The images blurred together, and he was now floating up to the surface. Lifting his head out of the water to catch a much needed breath of fresh air, the brunette stood as he shook his head of water and looked around. It was no longer daytime, and the sky was a blend of colours the blonde knew quite well—twilight. As he moved his gaze ahead, the blonde realized that he wasn't at the beach at his home but still on that island that the rest of the dream was set in, as the beach of his world warped into the beach of whatever world he was in. A redheaded girl was waving at him, the other hand cupped around her mouth to amplify her voice.

"_Sora!"_ the girl called, waving frantically. The brown-haired boy smiled and waved back, pushing his way through the water to make it over to her. The girl continued to wave, her image distorting into a brunette girl who dropped her hands excitedly as she saw him coming towards her, the background back to the beach of his world again. _"Roxas!"_ the brunette girl yelled happily, smiling brightly after she did so. The blonde paused moving for a moment as his name was spoken aloud, but his brunette friend was replaced with the redhead and the other beach once more. Being changed again himself back to the brunette boy that appeared to be called Sora, he made it to the shore, bending down to take a rest.

When he looked up, Sora smiled as his eyes locked onto the girl, who seemed to laugh at his silliness before her smile faded away at something else that caught her eye. Standing straight up, he turned to see what she was looking at, both set of blue eyes widening in joyous shock and confused fear at the falling shooting stars. Blinking as he tried to convince himself that he didn't see another him falling amongst the stars, Sora gasped as he began to fall backwards. The girl gasped as well, tearing her eyes away from the sky to look down at him as he fell. The strange thing was, it was like he was falling through the air instead of hitting the ground or water.

Closing his eyes as he dropped headfirst through the atmosphere, Sora transformed into Roxas, who brought his head up to look back at the girl, who was now the brunette friend knew. Stretching his hand out for her help, the brown-haired girl reached down towards him, wanting to save him just as much. _"Roxas!"_ she yelled, her voice no longer cheerful but scared now, before her image began to ripple like she was standing on water.

_Olette… _

Roxas laid his head back as she disappeared, confused as he was still falling through the air. Nothing was making sense. What had just happened? Passing by the setting sun as he descended downwards, he dived into the water, the dream making a full circle now as he was back floating through the same waters where it had all began. Roxas closed his eyes, wishing for the bizarre dream to be over. As he began to eventually slow down and flip around so that he was falling feet first, he reopened his eyes, wondering what was going on. It wasn't long before his feet touched down on a solid surface, and as soon as he was sure he had stable footing, he shot up in a full standing position, looking around as the bottomless waters wasn't so bottomless anymore.

There had to be a way out. Roxas' eyes scanned one side before his head turned the other way and inspected that side. He couldn't see anything dangerous, though whether that was because there was nothing there or because it was too dark to see made the feeling of security only half of what it should have been. His foot seemed to have tripped off some sort of alarm, as the floor that was beneath him began to open up as doves began to fly all around him. Roxas lifted both of his hands to shield his eyes, both from the bright light that was suddenly uncovered and to protect himself from the flying birds.

When he believed the coast was clear, and his eyes adjusted to the light, he slowly lowered his hands, glancing at the lighted picture below him. Three of the people he slightly recognized as the boy named Sora, holding an odd weapon, and his two friends, since they did make an appearance in his dream earlier, but the dog-like and duck-like creatures were new to him. Moving his gaze from the picture to the doves, Roxas watched them scatter around with his mouth opened in awe—he was no longer underwater. As weird as the dream was, it was a beautiful sight to see white doves flying around him. Locking onto one of them as it flew right by him, Roxas looked up as the remaining doves flew off into the distance before him.

xoxoxoxox

Turning his in sleep so that he was now lying on his back, Roxas closed his eyes tightly before slowly opening them, greeted by the bland ceiling of his room. He took a long blink before opening his eyes again, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "What a…weird dream…" Roxas whispered, lifting his hands and flexing them to ensure he was alive and awake before dropping them down on the bed beside him. It wasn't until his heart rate had returned to normal that he realized that his heart had been beating fast just moments before. Bringing a hand to clutch at his heart, the ringing sound of the Clock Tower bell moved his attention to his window.

Peering out for a minute, Roxas eventually turned his head to the small clock that sat somewhere on his crowded desk near his bed. Finding it sitting on a small cabinet beside a potted plant, he got onto his hands and knees to get a better look at it. 10 o'clock, it read. He was glad that it was summer vacation or he would have been late for school. If he didn't get a move on soon, though, he'd be late with meeting his friends at the Usual Spot, which was happening in an hour from then. Jumping out of bed, Roxas went to get ready.

xoxoxoxox

When Roxas walked into their hideout, which looked to be an abandoned storage room of some kind in the Back Alley, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were already there chattering about small things as they waited for their final member to arrive. Olette was the first to notice him enter, turning her head to watch him. She opened her mouth to say a greeting, but seemed at a loss for words at the look on Roxas's face. As soon as he came in Roxas had made a beeline towards Hayner, a worried look on his face. Cutting in between her and Pence, who each stood on either side of Hayner, who in turn was in the center, Roxas held is hands out as if to grab him. Latching onto him by the shoulders, Roxas shook him, seemingly satisfied with the realness that he felt and the startled noise that Hayner emitted.

Before Hayner could properly shake him off and question him about the sudden outburst, Roxas had turned towards Olette. Jumping at the sudden attention, the brunette girl took a step back, not wanting to be shaken as Hayner was. She brought her right hand to her chest as if in defense, feeling her cheeks begin to burn up as Roxas seemed to sense her fear and decided to circle around her instead, inspecting her for something irregular. Relaxing slightly as Roxas stood before her once more and let out a sigh of relief, Olette glanced worriedly at Hayner and Pence. The former seemed as perplexed as she was, though the latter seemed ready for his examination. When none came, Pence looked slightly hurt.

They all remained silent, waiting for some sort of explanation to his odd behaviour. Roxas didn't seem to pick up on anything, too glad that they were all safe to have noticed. Staggering backwards, Roxas sat upon his regular seat in the room, soon surrounded by his friends as they huddled in front of him. A few moments more passed and still no word from Roxas. Taking it upon himself as the leader of the group and best friend to the fellow blonde, Hayner stepped up and got into Roxas's face, bending down in front of him with his hands on his knees.

"Yo, blondie, you got some explaining to do. What the heck was that all about? I think parts of my brain are still trying to settle back into their respective places."

Roxas blinked, a little taken aback, and stared at Hayner as if it was the first time he was really seeing any of them. Rubbing the back of his head, Roxas let out an embarrassed laugh, trying to come up with an answer. "I just…had the weirdest dream. You were about to be swallowed up by this humongous tidal wave and I tried to save you but I couldn't. Or at least…I think it was you. That was the weird part. These other people kept cutting into my dream. And Olette—"

He looked up at her, the concerned look in her eyes reminding him of the same exact look she had when she reached out for him when he was falling. He hated to see her so worried; pain was etched in his own eyes when he saw her like that. Roxas wasn't sure why, but he just blamed it on the fact that they were friends—he wouldn't want to any of them look that way, after all. "You…" Roxas wasn't sure how to word it without feeling any more uncomfortable than he already was. He never saw her so happy, and he himself never felt so glad to see someone, like she and he were in his dream. Then to have to turn into how it did afterwards…the terrified tone in her voice…Roxas made a fist with one hand and quickly diverted his gaze from hers. He couldn't figure out what he was feeling.

Olette could feel her heart break slightly as Roxas looked away from her. What had happened…was it so bad that he couldn't even look at her? For some reason, she was feeling happy that Roxas had dreamt of her, but now she would rather him never think of her than be pained like he was if he did. Luckily for Roxas, he didn't have to go any further as Pence piped in, pointing to himself with his index finger. "What about me, Roxas? What happened to me in your dream?"

Roxas thought for a moment before he looked up at Pence. He couldn't recall the ebony-haired boy in his dream at any one moment. "Err, I think I must've woken up before you made in there, Pence," Roxas replied slowly, trying to let the boy down easy as he could see the change in Pence's expression as he spoke. Before Pence, or any of the rest of them, could be down for long, Hayner had patted him hard on the back, chuckling.

"Don't worry there, Pence. Tonight you'll be the star of Roxas's dream! That'll make up for everything, right?"

Giggling soon filled the four walls of the room, and all seemed right in the world again. Backing away from each other as they went to sit in their respective seats in the hideout, Olette glanced at Roxas who sat on her left side. Compared to how Hayner and Pence sat off in the corner, it was like Roxas and Olette were prince and princess. She looked at him trying to find the words to speak; she wanted to clear the odd air that seemed to have gathered between them. "Hey, don't worry about anything, okay? It was just a dream. It's not like it means anything, right?"

Roxas's eyes widened at Olette's words, and he turned his head towards her, eventually smiling and nodding in agreement. She smiled and nodded back as well, relieved that he, and they, were going to be just fine. Pence joined in on the nodding, and soon Hayner crossed his arms and nodded, too. "Yeah, it's not like Twilight Town holds any records for tidal waves. Anyway, I won't be able drown if we never _make it_ to the _beach_," Hayner added, stressing on keywords as he tried to make a point.

Catching on, Pence laughed and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as well. "So, what exactly does everyone have in mind to do today?"

"Well, we certainly can't go to the beach today," Olette answered, holding her left arm to her side for support so that she could lean that way.

"And why not?" Hayner countered. They hadn't been to the beach all summer vacation, and with all the talk of water and waves, he was itching to go swimming now.

"The preliminaries for the Struggle tournament are tomorrow," Olette explained matter-of-factly. "If you guys expect to make it to the finals next week, you gotta past this first. I think we should all be practicing for it today, don't you? It's our last chance before tomorrow."

Hayner grabbed at his head with both hands, shaking it in shame. "I think Roxas's blender-shake fried my brain. I can't believe I forgot about that! You're right, Letty. Let's find a place to get our Struggle on!"

The rest of them nodded and got to their feet, walking out of the Usual Spot and heading down the stairs at the end of the alley to the Sandlot, where the Struggle tournament was held every year near the end of the summer. They were greeted by several people as they were rather popular with the rest of the town, especially Roxas. It was probably not a surprise to anyone—they were friendly and nice to everyone, so it was only natural that everyone knew and liked them. Borrowing four of the foam bats from the cabinet after asking the keeper to unlock it for them briefly, they made their way to the center of the lot. They immediately began to hit each other playfully, the reason they were there temporarily lost, but their fun was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

"Well, well, if it isn't the lamers. Why don't you clear this space for a real champion?"

The four of them slowly lowered their bats and stared at each other before they turned their heads to look at Seifer, with Fuu, Rai, and Vivi standing behind him. Seifer was the leader of their little group, the self-proclaimed 'disciplinary committee' of Twilight Town. If they weren't fighting with each other so much, all of them would have been pretty good friends—'would have' being the keywords. Seifer seemed to be so hell-bent and made it his life's mission to make them all have a hard time enjoying themselves that being friends was more far-off than the sun itself—which was saying a lot.

Huffing, Hayner took several steps towards Seifer, beating the end of the bat to his shoulder. He was never the same person when Seifer was in the picture. It was said that the two of them had some history together before, but things fell apart someway or another—Hayner never spoke about it, so they were never clear on just what went on before. "Whadda talking about, beanie boy? The champions are already here."

Laughing as if he had found something humorous in Hayner's serious words, Seifer shook his head before pointing his own bat at Roxas. "Care to put your skills where your mouth is, chicken wuss?"

Glaring at Seifer, Roxas gripped his bat tighter, walking up towards Seifer so that he was standing next to Hayner. "Bring it on!" he muttered darkly. He was just about sick of Seifer picking on him and the others. If he could beat him today, it would certainly shut him up for a few days at least.

"Hayner! Roxas! Please don't!" Olette called. She never liked how Hayner and Roxas changed around Seifer. She always worried that something would go horribly wrong one day, and she didn't believe Seifer was worth all the trouble. Seifer would have been a tolerable guy if he just left them alone; she only had problems with him when he bothered them. "You, too, Seifer!" she pleaded with him, hoping that he'd be keen on her words if her friends happened to ignore her.

Seifer turned towards Olette, a sly smile dancing upon his lips as his eyes seemed to dance. Taking a quick intake of breath, Olette backed away slightly as the blonde slowly took a few steps towards her. Of all the years she'd known him, she had never been afraid of him before. But the way he was acting all of a sudden took her off guard. For one moment, she was certain he would hurt her, and that frightened her. If it was an act, which she was telling herself it was, he sure got her.

"What was that? Were you ordering me around?" Seifer asked in a faux innocent and hurt voice.

To Olette's and Seifer's surprise, Roxas suddenly stood between them, his arm out in protection of Olette. "Don't take another step closer, Seifer," Roxas said in a rather serious voice, holding his bat out in front of him to keep Seifer farther away. That tone in Olette's voice…it nearly matched the one in his dreams. _And if Seifer's the cause of that…_ Roxas narrowed his eyes at the thought. He was going to destroy whatever dared to hurt his friends.

"C'mon, Letty," Pence whispered, pulling her away to give Roxas some room without having to worry about hitting them by accident. Olette gasped slightly at the touch, quickly looking at him as if afraid it was someone else. Nodding slowly, she looked back at Roxas as they moved towards the back of the lot. Roxas looked at Pence from the corner of his eye, sending a silent 'thank you' his way for getting Olette out of harm's way. With that done, he moved his gaze to look at Hayner, who got the message and went to join Pence and Olette.

"You be careful," Hayner said as a piece of advice before he went.

"Ha, you guys better be ready to haul him to the hospital," Seifer taunted before lunging towards Roxas.

Sapphire eyes widened at the unexpected attack, and Roxas was just barely able to bring his bat up to block it. Before him, an image flashed of the platinum-haired boy from his dreams, only dressed and acting differently, an odd-looking key pushing down against his bat, which changed into a different key as well. Gasping at the sight, Roxas was pulled out of it as Seifer pushed him back roughly and hit him across the stomach. Bending over, Roxas clutched at his stomach with his free hand, his thoughts about whether what he saw was real being merging with the thoughts of the pain he felt. Why was his dream continuing when he was awake? If it continued, he really might be sent to the hospital at the end of everything.

Seeing an opening, Seifer smirked and brought his bat down against Roxas's back, bringing the blonde boy to his knees. "Roxas!" Olette cried out, wanting to run out to him but was being held back by Hayner and Pence. Moving his free had to his heart and clutching at the ground through the handle of the bat, Roxas breathed heavily. What was going on? He was feeling pain that was separate from the beatings he was receiving from Seifer. Looking back towards his friends, he was surprised to see the other girl from his dreams lying on the ground unconscious. Blinking, Olette's tearful eyes looked back at him, along with the worried looks of Hayner and Pence. _An illusion?_ Roxas felt like he was losing his mind.

"_Sora!"_ The redhead girl's voice filled the confines of his head. Whipping his head back around and up, Roxas lifted his bat in time to block another attack from Seifer, who seemed all too delighted by Roxas' strange antics.

"I don't know what's going on, but it's too late to save yourself, chicken wuss," Seifer uttered before lifting a foot to push Roxas roughly onto his back.

"Hey! That's cheating, Seifer!" Pence yelled. Looking to the others, they nodded and began running over towards Roxas.

Roxas groaned, beginning to make a move to turn onto his stomach so that he could push himself up. But before he could, Seifer's foot suddenly pressed into his back, pinning him to the ground. "Quick! Take a picture! It'll last longer," he ordered, smirking. Rai and Vivi suddenly appeared beside him and Fuu stood before them, holding a camera to her eyes. The three of them made a pose and Fuu quickly took the picture before Hayner, Pence, and Olette arrived to stop them. Lifting his foot off of Roxas, Seifer made his way over to Fuu, pointing at the camera as it spit out the instant picture.

"Now we have proof that we totally owned you lamers," Seifer said triumphantly, taking a pleased look at the developed picture. "Catch you losers later!" he added with a wave as the four of them turned and left the Sandlot.

"Roxas! Roxas, are you okay?" Olette asked, severely worried, kneeling beside him and helping him up to his feet as he took her hand.

"I'm…I'm fine," Roxas answered reluctantly, brushing himself off. Shaking his head, he held onto it with his left hand.

"Maybe we really should bring you to the hospital…" Pence said, trailing off at the thought that Roxas could die.

Letting out a small laugh, Roxas shook his head again, hoping that his friends would see that he was really fine. "Really, I'm fine, guys."

"Then what the heck just happened back there? Seifer will never let us live this down for the rest of the summer!" Hayner questioned, though he was greatly worried about his best friend. Roxas paused, wondering the same thing himself. He couldn't very well tell them that he was dreaming while he was awake, could he? They would surely send him to the psych ward instead of the hospital.

"I…I don't know. I guess I'm just a little out of it today," Roxas eventually said, hoping his friends would accept that answer. They all let out a sigh—they didn't believe him, but they couldn't question him, either. They'd just have to accept it since it didn't look like Roxas was going to tell them anything more.

"Maybe we should lay easy on the practicing today," Olette offered. She didn't want to be near bats for a while now. She was feeling pretty bad now, too. It was her idea to practice, and then it was her fault that the fight started…she was the reason that Roxas got hurt. It was tearing her up inside.

"No, no. We gotta make sure that we win the tournament even more now! We gotta show Seifer…" Roxas said, clutching at the bat again.

The three of them looked at each other before looking at Roxas. Hayner patted him on the back and nodded. He understood more than anyone. "Right! But maybe a break will be good first. Those sea-salt ice creams are calling our names!"

The four of them were soon laughing, and they placed their bats down to go and get an ice cream. When they had left, one of the bats warped into the strange key-like weapon before reverting to the foam bat once more.

Twelve more days until complete restoration.


	3. PreLims

** author' s notes: **Wai, thanks for the reviews IceKitty and Warrior of Virtue! I'm glad that you guys are interested in it and wish for the fic to continue. I'll do my best to keep you coming back for more!

And I know what you mean, paradiseGOGO. I have a habit of making those faces, too, but they never show up when I upload the chapters! It takes the emotion away, don't you think? x.x Anyway, I'm happy to hear you like my writing style. I always think I'm writing too much.

* * *

**Chapter III:** Pre-Lims

"They sure have strong hearts for being _copies_…"

Pale fingers that were once typing frantically on the computer keyboard ceased at the sound of the deep voice. Curling her fingers into her palms lightly, Naminé stopped what she was doing to turn and look at Riku, who was leaning against the wall behind her with his arms crossed—it was the boy's regular stance, even if he wasn't in his normal body. They stared at each other for a moment before she turned back around and resumed her work. _There might still be hope for Roxas yet if this continues. _With that thought driving her, Naminé toiled feverishly. With DiZ away on whatever business he did when he wasn't in the room, it was her only chance to get at the data and save it for her own use in the days to come.

Bowing his head down as Naminé didn't seem to catch the cue for her to talk, Riku shook his head slightly, closing his eyes as he continued, getting straight to the point. "Will this affect Sora?" He was sure DiZ would ask him for details, but this was more than just business for him—it was personal. He only followed DiZ because he was told it would help his best friend.

"…No one can predict what hearts will do. They're a very powerful and mysterious thing. Just because they're copies doesn't mean they're not real," Naminé spoke as she typed, not answering the hooded man's question at all and instead referring to his first comment. It was more like she was thinking aloud with no regard towards Riku. "They have strong emotions towards Roxas, and Roxas towards them, even after everything I have done and what Roxas is. That bond will be hard to break, even for DiZ…if destroying it is even possible. We could always alter the data, as I'm sure DiZ will have me do when this is all over, but even I wouldn't be able to make it disappear in a web of lies. It's that resounding."

"I'm sure that's nice and all, but you didn't answer my question."

Finishing whatever work she was doing, Naminé rotated in the chair and stood up, taking a few steps towards Riku. She couldn't tell him what she planned to do yet, especially with the data of the previous day, but she had to set his fears to rest. "No, Riku. Sora's fine. In fact, this is how his restoration is affecting Roxas. Once Roxas becomes used to it, he should no longer have a strong rejection to the memories, and so he should have no need to comfort himself by involving his friends." Smiling faintly in hopes that her hypothesis was correct for everyone's sake, Naminé began to make her way towards the back door that led the corridors and the pod room at the end of it all. She couldn't confide in Riku until she was certain he and DiZ weren't thinking only for themselves.

Riku let out a dry laugh, pulling away from the wall to turn towards Naminé. He was glad to hear that his friend would be all right, but he was sure that if it continued, it would eventually hurt Sora. Roxas was still a loose canon, even when trapped in the faux world. "DiZ will find out, and when he does, he'll take separate actions, Naminé. You should stop what that blonde-haired boy is doing before DiZ stops it for you. That is, if you care about him so much." A touch of jealously seemed hidden in his voice, amplified by the darkness the emotion held.

Standing on the other side of the doorway, Naminé turned her head to look at him from the corner of her eye. She knew the differences she and Riku had where Roxas was concerned, but Riku couldn't completely hate Roxas, for he _was_ half of Sora, after all. "Thank you for the warning. I'll keep that in mind. He's not the only one I care about, though...Riku." He probably believed that, considering what she was, she'd unintentionally have a thing for Roxas, especially since he reminded her of Sora. After everything she had done to him in Castle Oblivion, he was still kind to her, and Naminé would forever hold a place for him in her non-existent heart—Riku knew that.

What he didn't know was the even bigger place he had in her. With her experience with the Riku replica and then meeting the real him in person after Sora was put to sleep, Naminé could sense what a strong and compassionate guy Riku was, and the pain that riddled his soul touched her, too. She really wanted him to win against his battle with Ansem, and hoped to return him to his normal form now as well—Riku deserved that in the very least. Naminé deeply wished that she could be happy with the person she treasured most, or that she could at least make his dreams come true, as she did not have a future in which she could be with him. So while it was true that she did care for the blonde, and that he would care for her, too, because of what they were and the connection they held, they both had eyes for another person.

The door automatically closed after her words, and she turned to continue on her way. Even with Riku's warning, she was certain that DiZ had already taken a few actions of his own in regards to what happened the previous day, specifically where the boy named Seifer was concerned. Olette wasn't afraid of him all of a sudden for no reason—the boy had changed, and DiZ was the one who had changed him momentarily. _You must've have fun beating on Roxas, DiZ,_ Naminé thought, a touch of bitter humor underlined in her words. Entering the pure white pod room, Naminé walked up to it, looking gently at the boy she knew was encased inside.

It was time for her to get to work again.

xoxoxoxox

"_The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."_

Roxas blinked as the mysterious words echoed away into the distance. Looking around, he found himself standing on the same lighted floor that his last dream had ended in. As the light from an unknown source began to brighten, he brought a hand up to shield his eyes, catching the sight of his shadow when he had moved forward slightly in search of the origin of the radiance in order to turn it down a notch or two. To his surprise, his shadow suddenly began to rise up from the ground, growing until it was a large dark being that heavily towered over him.

Backing away slowly as if not to alert the huge creature of his existence, Roxas turned and tried to make a run for it only to find that he had quickly reached the edge of the seemingly raised platform. Swallowing, Roxas faced the monster again, feeling his stomach drop down to the floor as the being now noticed him.

_"But don't be afraid."_

In a sparkle of lights, a sword suddenly appeared in Roxas's hands. He lifted it up in front of him, bringing a hand to its edge to check how sharp it really was to see if it would even do any damage. Right before his thumb touched the blade, though, the creature attacked him, causing him to have to dodge roll away from the massive hand. Having no other choice but to fight until he woke up from what he hoped was a really bad dream, Roxas began hacking away at the arm as hard as he can. As the minutes went by, he seemed to get more tired and there was still as much of the dark thing as there was from the beginning of the battle. It didn't look like he made any sort of dent in it, either.

Jumping backwards to gain some distance and catch his breath, Roxas let out an exasperated groan as the sword disappeared as swiftly as it had come to him. He had no chance to dwell on his misfortune as the massive shadow went to strike where he stood, forcing him to jump back once more. Slipping on the smooth surface, Roxas landed on his butt, gradually straining his neck to look up at the creature before him. As if being cornered wasn't bad enough, a strange black portal opened beneath him where he sat, darkness seeping out to grab every inch of his body.

_"And don't forget…"_

The images began to fade in and out rapidly as Roxas got onto his hands and knees, trying desperately to escape from the darkness that threatened to swallow him whole. He took in a big intake of air as if the darkness was suffocating him; his huge shadow looming in the background seemed the lesser of the two evils at the moment, and he was almost sorry that he wasn't fighting helplessly against it right then and there.

_"You hold the mightiest weapon of all."_

Shaking his head at the nonsense the voice was telling him, Roxas held a hand out into the air, hoping to grab onto anything or anyone. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas screamed, feeling something fold inside him when darkness soon enveloped his outstretched hand and arm as well. "No! No, no, no!" Roxas yelled over and over again stubbornly. He refused to believe that this was how it was going to end for him.

"_So don't forget: You are the one…who will open the door."_

Sapphire eyes widened as he was soon completely covered in the darkness. He could no longer see the very hand that was still stretched out in front of him. He couldn't remember the last time he was afraid of the dark, but then again, he couldn't remember the last time he was this alone, either.

_"Roxas…Roxas!"_

Olette's voice echoed in the darkness that surrounded him, trying to save him from impending doom once more. In the far-off distance, Roxas could see the simmering of a tiny light—but perhaps it was too late. Roxas was already beginning to give up. Closing his eyes, he continued to sink deeper into the darkness. It wasn't so bad, if he just let it take over his body…

_"Hey, this is no time to grab some shut eye, man."_

_ "Yeah! You gotta fight!"_

Roxas hesitantly reopened his eyes, second-guessing whether or not he had heard Hayner and Pence's voices urging him not to surrender. For a fleeting moment, he had actually believed that he could escape from the tight clutches that hung onto him, but in that same instant the darkness had found an easy doorway to seep into his soul and smash those same hopes. "But I…I can't fight back. My weapon's…gone. Everything has rejected me but this darkness…"

A soft giggling filled his senses, kind and comforting to calm his fears instead of taunting them. _"Your friends are your power, Roxas,"_ Olette's voice said soothingly to him. _"Our hearts are one. You're not alone… never forget that."_

The light that was once small now began to push away the suffocating darkness. Amidst the light a hand adorned with a sea-green beaded bracelet reached out into the darkness to hold onto his hand, pulling him back into the light.

xoxoxoxox

Squirming back and forth on his bed as if still trying to shake off the hold darkness had on him, Roxas suddenly shot up into a sitting position, his face riddled with beads of cold sweat. "Olette?" he breathed out before he realized that he was awake. Closing his eyes, he let out a giant sigh of relief at the fact that the dream was over, plopping backwards to lie on his bed again. The odd people from yesterday weren't invading his dreams today, but he didn't know what had just happened, either. He'd never seen anything like that creature…there was no way he could have thought of it out of no where, could he?

Running his hand through his gravity-defying hair like a makeshift comb, Roxas stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure everything out. For the second day in the row, Olette was in his dreams, trying to save him, and this time, she did it. She, and Hayner and Pence, never gave up on him, even when he had given up on himself. He was stupid for even thinking that his friends wouldn't be there for him. _I've probably been taking them all for granted,_ Roxas thought, vowing to cherish every moment he spent with his friends from then on. It probably sounded pretty sappy, but when you start having odd dreams everyday, it puts things in perspective. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to happen that would change everything.

"Our hearts…are one, huh…?" he repeated Olette's words aloud, bringing a hand to his heart. Smiling inwardly as he began to feel a warmness build up within him, Roxas suddenly shot up, his mind racing. _Friends…Struggle…pre-lims!_ He had almost completely forgotten that those were today. Roxas moved to get out of bed, but he found that he had only tangled himself up in the blanket that had made its way off of his body sometime during the night. Struggling to free himself, Roxas let out a yelp as he fell of the edge of his bed and hit the wooden floor below. Wincing at the pain, he wondered briefly why he could never make it to anything on time. Eventually unraveling himself, Roxas rushed to his feet and out of his room, leaving the cleaning of the disheveled bedroom for another time, if such a time should arise in Roxas's seemingly busy schedule.

xoxoxoxox

"Roxas! Over here!"

Weaving his way through the loud, cheering crowd that seemed to pack the Sandlot and the surrounding building roofs, Roxas paused to search for where the voice was coming from amongst the million other sounds. His eye caught onto the waving hand of Pence. Smiling, he made is way over to him, letting out a sigh as he managed to make it there in one piece. Patting Pence on the back in a hello, he leaned forward to glance at Olette, who stood on the ebony-haired boy's other side. Her gaze was looking forward at the stage, but when she felt someone's eyes on her, Olette blinked and turned her head towards Roxas, smiling gently and waving her right hand at him. She could feel her heart skip a beat when he returned the grin, and she was slightly disappointed that he moved his eyes off her. What was it that she was feeling?

"Where's Hayner?" Roxas asked, searching through the mass of people for his best friend. It wasn't like him to be late, even if he seemed to be a bit of a slacker—the Struggle was an important event to him, and besides, being tardy was Roxas's job, not his.

"He's up right now," Olette replied, nodding over to the stage where the blonde was seen talking with the referee. "Your match was supposed to be first, but since you didn't arrive yet, Hayner asked to bump the rest of the matches up so that you wouldn't lose the match on default."

Standing on his tippy-toes, Roxas glanced at the stage, noticing that Fuu was standing there as well. He felt bad that he had caused so much trouble for everyone, but soon thought of a way to pay him back for it. It wasn't much, and probably something standard, but it was all he could do at the moment. "C'mon, guys. Let's stand up near the stage," Roxas suggested, and he led the way to a empty space that was right by the stage. Pence and Olette looked at each other curiously before following after him, standing on either side of the blonde. Raising his hands to cup around his mouth, Roxas took in a big intake of air.

"Go Hayner! You can win this with your eyes closed!" Roxas yelled, his voice easily surpassing volume level of the crowds. Hayner, who was busy attaching a bunch of red balls to his body, looked up at the cheer that was anything but bashful, smirking lightly when he found that it was Roxas who had uttered the words. _So he finally made it,_ Hayner mused, smiling inwardly at the fact that he was able to act in time to save Roxas's spot. _Sure took him long enough._

"Yeah, Hayner! You were born to win this!" Olette joined in, gigging as she raised both hands up in exaggerated waving. She had to admit that letting Hayner's ego grow would be a disaster off the stage, but it did get him pumped up, which he definitely needed. Hayner was never able to make it to the past finals the last couple of years, but they all knew he could do it this year—they did a lot of practicing yesterday.

"And if you don't, I'm eating your share of sea-salt ice cream!" Pence shouted, causing the three of them to go into a fit of laughs at the expression that came on Hayner's face at Pence's words. He just waved them off, though he hoped in his heart that they were joking since sea salt ice cream was his second love to Struggling. He gave them a thumbs up before turning to receive the bat from the referee. Hayner gave a respectful nod towards Fuu and walked with her to the center of the stage, getting into a battling stance as she did the same.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl," Hayner advised the silver-haired girl, who merely smirked.

"Hope not," Fuu replied smugly in her usual short sentences, though either way she was going to win for Seifer no matter what.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the beginning of Twilight Town's annual Struggle Tournament!" The announcer bellowed loudly without the aid of a microphone, earning the approving cheers of the crowd. "The winners from today's preliminaries will move on to next week's finals, where they get compete for title match and a battle for championship with the reigning champ, Setzer!" Setzer's fans began chanting his name, to which the self-absorbed man raised his hand from where he stood in the corner, gaining even more cheers.

The referee stepped up as the announcer got off the stage. "We've got ourselves plenty of hopeful combatants this year! Two of the constants here vying for one of those spots are our very own Hayner and Fuu! They've already brushed up on the official Struggle Rules, so you guys all know what's next, don'tcha? Let's…"

"Struggle!" Roxas, Olette, and Pence yelled in harmony with the rest of the crowd. Fireworks exploded in the air, and the first match began.

Hayner's eyes widened as Fuu rushed him, using the same type of opening move that Seifer had used on Roxas yesterday. Bringing his bat up as a shield, he was able to hold his position and pushed Fuu away. Hayner had every intention of going easy on Fuu before, even if he said he wouldn't—it was a natural thing for him to do, seeing as hitting girls wasn't one of his favourite pastimes. If he didn't give it his all, though, he'd find himself on the losing end, and the laughing stock of the town for losing against a girl, even if she were a formidable opponent.

Scowling, Hayner ran up towards Fuu in the time he had distracted her by pushing her away, striking her with his two-hit combo before ending with a short thrust. A shower of blue balls fell from Fuu, and he quickly went to retrieve them before she could. In his luck, he was able to dodge a counterattack, and jumped farther away to gain some ground. Hayner shot a glance at the clock to see if he had time for one more attack before the match was over.

Waiting for just the right chance to go in, Hayner dashed towards Fuu, attempting to fake a left and hit her on the right. Fuu caught onto him, though, and nailed him. Despite the loss, Hayner saw the perfect opportunity when Fuu was busy trying to pick up all of his fallen balls, and his attacked with his combo once more. A shower of red balls filled the sky, the floor now littered with red and blue balls. With time ticking down on the clock, the two of them scurried around trying to gather as much balls as possible before the buzzer went off.

Hayner stood up straight when it finally did, catching his breath and holding onto the sore spots on his body before heading over to the referee with Fuu to get his number counted. He glanced back at Roxas and the others, smiling a cheesy smile to calm his nerves. They smiled back at him, giving him two thumbs up in support. When the referee had finished counting, he walked up to the center of the stage and all attention moved towards him.

"In an amazing finish, the winner of this match is…Hayner!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, save for Seifer and his group, not so much in happiness of Hayner himself winning but rather drunk on Struggle fever, with Roxas, Pence, and Olette screaming the loudest. Jumping up and down as the blonde made his way over to them, they each gave him a high five before he plopped himself down on the ground in exhaustion.

"Wow, your first finals, Hayner!" Olette exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together in happiness for her friend.

"I knew you could do it," Roxas said, smiling brightly and patting him on the shoulder.

"Guess you can have your ice cream," Pence joked, laughing. At a loss for words, Hayner just merely grinned from ear to ear before he cleared his throat and tried to act serious.

"Did you ever doubt it for a minute?" Hayner eventually replied to them all with a wink. Full of laughter, they all turned their heads towards the stage as the referee readied himself to speak once more.

"The fun isn't over yet, folks! Let's head right into our next match: Seifer versus Olette!"

The laughter was quickly snuffed out of the four friends, though their silence couldn't be detected in the midst of the roaring crowd. There couldn't have been a more rapid change of atmosphere than the one that had just occurred. Olette opened her mouth to say something, anything, as her eyes locked onto Seifer, who was stepping onto the stage to get set up for his battle. Hayner was up on his feet so fast it was as if a fire had been lit under him and he was trying to avoid getting burned to a crisp. Roxas unconsciously made a fist, taking a few steps towards the stage.

"There's no way…" Roxas whispered, his eyes wide and full of shock and anger. After what Seifer tried to do to Olette yesterday, the guy was getting handed a second chance to finish the job on a silver platter?

"Olette? …Olette?" Pence repeated worriedly, placing a hand on one of the girl's slender shoulders and shaking her lightly. She looked to be in a state of shock herself, but the shake seemed to snap her out of it. Blinking, Olette looked towards her three friends and smiled faintly, trying to drive away the fear they were all feeling.

"It'll be all right, guys," Olette said in a weak voice before closing her eyes and shaking her head, hoping to make her voice stronger. "There's a referee and everything…nothing will happen." Before anything more could be said, Olette walked onto the stage and began preparing for the fight. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she worked, and Seifer glanced over towards her, watching her with a touch of concern before putting on his infamous smirk.

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about, Olette. I won't hit you half as hard as Hayner did with Fuu."

Pausing to turn and watch Seifer walk to the center of the stage, Olette grabbed the foam bat the referee was holding out towards her before walking after Seifer. "Do you expect me to believe that, Seifer?" she questioned him, taking her place across from him at the center of the stage.

Seifer shrugged at her touchy words, raising his hands up as if asking what more she wanted from him. "Of course. I never really held any hard feelings towards you—it was always lame and lamerer, though I don't understand why you hang with such losers. However, I do have to win this, so it'll go much easier for us both if you just stand there like a good little girl."

Olette held onto the handle of the bat with a tight grip. Was he really going to pretend that nothing happened twenty-four hours ago? "Don't you remember what you did yesterday?"

The beanie-wearing boy paused as if he had to think real hard about the previous day. "Well, we do have this awesome picture of us owning Roxas hanging in our hideout. I can't exactly recall what happened, but pictures don't lie. It must've been a heck of good day. It's a shame nothing's coming back to me."

Emerald eyes were wide in astonishment at the words she was hearing. He didn't remember anything? How was that possible? _But he is acting more like his normal self today than he was yesterday…what's going on?_ The bell rang for their match to begin, but Olette simply stood there as though she didn't hear as Seifer got into a battle stance, ready to pounce on what looked like easy prey. Roxas, Hayner, and Pence crept increasingly closer to the edge of the stage, wanting to do something to save their friend but unsure of what to do. Without any of the other two noticing it, Pence quickly rushed onto the stage and grabbed onto the referee, whispering something to him. He looked blankly at the ebony-haired boy before stepping forward.

Seifer had already begun to move before the referee spoke, though, his bat high above him and steadily bringing it down to strike at Olette. Feeling his heart stop beating for a moment, Roxas sprinted towards Olette, time seemingly going in slow motion. Reaching his hands out towards the brunette girl, he wrapped his arms around her, pushing them both to the stage floor. Time resumed back to normal and Seifer's bat slashed through air before connecting with the ground. Glancing back at Seifer in realization that that could have been his friend, Roxas looked at Olette, who was lying by his side under his arm, as she began to stir.

"Err, I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it seems that Olette is withdrawing from the competition and is being replaced by Pence," the referee said slowly, getting caught up in watching the events unfold before him. It looked like he was a little late in getting the word out, but he was glad that Roxas had managed to pull Olette to safety before she was dealt unnecessary damage.

"Olette! Are you okay?" Roxas asked her gently, his eyes soft with concern. Olette winced slightly as the pain that briefly surged through her body from the fall, but she nodded, looking up at Roxas, their faces a mere few inches apart.

"I'm okay," she replied, smiling at him before she blushed as she became aware of how close they were and that he had his arm around her. Catching the red color change in her face, Roxas wondered what was wrong before he soon realized he was holding onto her. Retracting his hand, Roxas quickly sat up, blushing now himself. Olette sat up soon afterward and he looked away embarrassingly, scratching the side of his face.

"I…um…sorry," Roxas stuttered out, getting to his feet and holding a hand out to help her up.

"No, thank you, Roxas," Olette said gratefully, taking his hand and rising to her feet. She dusted herself off once she was standing, noticing a cut Roxas had on his arm. "Roxas…you're hurt…" she pointed out dismally, reaching out towards the injury. Why was it that she always seemed to cause him harm somehow by being a distraction? If she hadn't called out to him yesterday, surely he wouldn't have lost against Seifer...

Roxas looked down at the gash and smiled, shaking his head. "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about, Letty. I'm just glad you're safe." They looked at each other, smiling, before Pence ran up to them, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.

"Pence, what was the referee talking about? You're going to battle for me?" Olette asked him, curious as to what the man was going on about before. She began to remove the equipment that she was wearing as Pence held out his hands for them.

"Yeah! We all saw how this fight with Seifer was affecting you. I couldn't just stand by while my best friend was in trouble," Pence said, removing his hands from their shoulders and raising one to rub the back of his head. Olette smiled and hugged him gently. She could always count on him for anything.

"Thank you so much, Pence."

Roxas nodded, patting Pence on the back. He was grateful that he was helping Olette like that, but he worried about him, too. Seifer could still beat him up in place of Olette. "You be careful. Seifer's ruthless."

Pence nodded, strapping on the last of the balls before taking the bat from Olette. With that, Roxas and Olette got off the stage and met back up with Hayner, who messed up both their hairs with a ruffle to the head for making him worry. Back on the stage, Seifer had finished talking with the referee and made his way back to his position at the center of the stage, cocking his head off the side as he looked at Pence.

"I don't know what you're pulling here, but you're going down, chub-chub," Seifer remarked, getting into his stance. Pence narrowed his eyes, getting into his own stance and waving the bat around ready to strike.

"You should talk," he said simply, earning a confused look from Seifer. Before Seifer could question him, the bell went off and their fight commenced.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Olette asked worried as the trio watched the battle unfold, her hands clasped together and up under her chin.

"Pence is a smart guy," Hayner replied, his arms crossed as he looked on with a watchful eye.

_Yeah, but can you win a fight with brains alone?_ Roxas thought, watching carefully as well. As much as he was glad Pence saved Olette, Pence wasn't any more of a fighter than she was. The battle went on, and Olette had to look away several times as Pence took a hit. By the end of it, he was sprawled across the stage, breathing heavily as the referee announced that Seifer was the winner.

Running up onto the stage, the three of them crowded around their fallen friend to see how badly he was hurt. Pence didn't seem to need hospitalization or a band-aid of any kind, so they were able to relax. The ebony-haired boy looked up at them before closing his eyes and sighing.

"I'm sorry guys. I lost," Pence said regretfully, closing his eyes tightly as he beat himself up internally.

"Don't be silly, man. You did good," Hayner retorted, helping the guy up to his feet.

"Yeah, you gave Seifer a run for his money. He'll think twice before thinking of picking a fight with you," Roxas added, giving him a smile.

"And you know what I think, Pence. Don't worry so much, that's my job." Olette winked at him as they started to make their way off the stage, now a much happier bunch. The referee stopped Roxas, though, informing him that his was the next match. Wishing the blonde luck, the rest of the group got off the stage and Roxas went to prepare for the match. He caught sight of Rai as he was finishing up, and he paused briefly. If he thought Seifer was tough, then Rai's difficultly level was through the roof. The tall and tan fifteen-year-old was the 'muscle' of Seifer's group, and it was probably the only reason Seifer kept him around, considering that was all he was good at—literally.

"You're gonna get pummeled, y'know?" Rai said to him, getting himself equipped and taking the foam bat.

Grabbing a bat himself, Roxas laughed to drive away the fear that Rai might actually be right for once. "We'll see about that," he said boldly, and they made their way to the center of the stage. The bell shortly rang, and their battle began.

Roxas immediately jumped backwards to avoid the boy's long swings as he tried to find an opening in which to attack, but the other male kept on putting pressure on him that all he could manage to do was jump away. Landing after a series of leaps, his dream from that morning suddenly came to him. Freezing momentarily, his brain processed that fighting Rai was similar to fighting the strange humongous creature he was up against in his dreams.

With that mindset, Roxas gripped the handle of his bat as he realized that he could win this fight. His sapphire eyes followed the movement of Rai's arms to the second. During the brief moment where Rai had come to an end in swinging and before he started up again, Roxas beat away at Rai's arms. The impact freed several balls from Rai's possession, and he was caught so off guard that he had let go of his bat. From there, it was smooth sailing ahead. It was Rai now that could no longer do anything but defend, and by the end of the match, he didn't have a single ball left.

"Well, there you have it folks! Roxas wins by a landslide!" The referee yelled, and cheering erupted once again. Smiling, Roxas got rid of all his equipment and jumped off the stage, where his friends were immediately on him faster than bees to honey.

"All right! We're going to the finals together!" Hayner shouted joyfully, messing Roxas's hair up once more.

"That was amazing, Roxas!" Olette exclaimed, smiling brightly at him.

"You finished Rai off like mince meat!" Pence said, giving his friend a pat on the back.

Blushing from all of their comments, Roxas laughed and brought them all together in a group hug. "You guys are the best," he declared, gaining giggles from his friends.

"Oh, I just have to go shopping!" Olette announced, receiving scared looks from Hayner and Pence. Olette usually dragged one of the boys along on her shopping trips, and shopping was never anything boys really enjoyed doing in general. Breaking away from the group, she winked at them, knowing what they were thinking. "No worries, I'm going solo this time."

"You sure?" Roxas asked, still a little edgy about what was going on with Seifer. He didn't want her to be by herself if she was unfortunate enough to meet the beanie-wearing boy while on her travels. Hayner and Pence looked at him as if he had lost his mind, not cluing in on what he was so worried about. Hayner covered Roxas's mouth before any more could be said and Pence held him back to prevent him from trying to move. Roxas tried to defy both restraints, but to no avail.

Olette shook her head at Hayner's and Pence's actions, laughing. As much as she would have liked to bring them along to spite them, she really did have to go alone. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you guys later, 'kay?" Smiling at Roxas in thanks for his offer, Olette waved and jogged away towards the Tram Common.

With the coast clear, Hayner and Pence let go of Roxas, who turned to face them, exasperated. He opened his mouth to ask them what that was all about, but Hayner had beaten him to the punch.

"Dude, what was that? _'You sure?'_," he imitated Roxas's voice as he repeated the other blonde's words. "Aw, man, Rai must've gotten in a few good hits because something's not right up here," Hayner said, tapping the top of his head.

"We saved you from certain death," Pence added, nodding. He'd always eventually go with Olette if she asked him, obviously, as the rest of them would, but he'd always lightly complain about it before letting it go.

Roxas blinked, staring at them. He was probably the lucky one of them all, as he didn't go shopping with Olette half as many times as Hayner and Pence did. But lately, he was beginning to wish he did—he didn't feel like he spent enough time with Olette. "But…I…she…" Roxas stuttered out, losing the steam he had had before he was interrupted by Hayner. Before he could get what he wanted to say out, Hayner and Pence turned him around and led him out of the Sandlot, ready to have some 'guy bonding' time.

They left just as Vivi's match was about to begin.

_Restoration at 2%._

Eleven more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes:** First of all, I am well aware that 'lamerer' is not a word. Just thought I'd do something like 'dumb and dumberer'…maybe I should have used that, instead! Lamer's Seifer's word, though, so I stuck with that.

Second…this chapter took me a while to complete. I must've re-written some sections of the chapter twice before I was happy with it. And the fighting in this chapter…was probably the worst you've ever read! I admit that writing fighting scenes is what I have the most trouble with when I write a story. Gomen nasai!

But at least I've dealt with how they got into the finals that was shown in the game, as well as the infamous picture that Seifer was going on about in the game in the previous chapter. I deliberately didn't go into how Vivi got into the finals, as the gang didn't seem aware of it and was surprised to see him there in the game. I'm also glad to have gotten some Roxas x Olette action, as well as some Riku x Naminé! Feel the luff!

That's it from me! Feel free to ask any questions, or make comments and suggestions! Ja!


	4. Best Friends

** author' s notes:** Wowies, I got a number of reviews this time around! Just a big thanks for you all you gave me one, first of all.

Abbie: I think we're one of the few who like Namiku, Abbie-chan! But I rather like it. And I didn't mean to call Pence chub-chub! It's all Seifie's fault. -noddles- I was actually gonna go with something else, but chub-chub seemed more nicer and cuter, too!

paradiseGOGO: Oooh, I think you're going to like the next chapter, then. I got a nice Roxas x Olette moment planned. And you should try writing, yo! I bet you're better than you think!

Tei-tei: I can't believe I made you a fan of Roxas x Olette! I'm so happy! -tears up-

roxworld: Wai, thank you. I'm having fun with the memory scenes, especially the one in this chapter and the one I'm thinking up for the next chapter. Hum, I probably will explain the relationship between Hayner and Seifer, once I solidify it myself. I don't know if it was ever hinted at in the English version, but in the Japanese version, I got the impression something there, so I went with it here. And I think many Roxas and/or TT Gang fans agree with what you said. I can't people couldn't wait for Sora to wake the heck up. T.T

Shiro-chan: WAAI! My fellow Roxas x Olette defender on KHI! –huggles- Seifer's…ah, what can I say about him? Maybe he likes her? –gaspu- I'll never tell! -shifty eyes-

Warrior of Virtue, kairi's heart, Shika & Sweet Raine: A-ri-ga-to-u! You can't believe how happy I am to see fellow Roxette fans! This fic is for all you alls!

* * *

**Chapter IV:** Best Friends

Two pairs of amber eyes stared at the multitude of computer screens that was before them. If a normal person were to look at the screens, all they would be able to gather was that it was data on some person—the information was much too complex for just anyone to comprehend. The hooded man didn't quite get it himself; that sort of thing was what DiZ took care of, but then again, Riku didn't need a bunch of one's and zero's to tell him that something might be wrong with his friend. The bandaged man didn't look too happy at what he was looking at, however.

"What is the meaning of this? I leave for one day and the restoration hasn't gotten much farther from two days ago," DiZ stated, his eyes hard as they reflected the glare that came from the numerous screens. "I believed bringing _him_in would be enough. What did Naminé say about this?"

Riku bowed his hooded head down and smirked, crossing his arms as he took in the question. He knew that he was going to be asked about it the following day, and he was right. If the older male were that predictable in a fight, it would surely cost him his life. Then again, that was what _he_ took care of. Shaking his head, Riku shrugged before answering. "Looks like he's a fighter, that one, even in _that_ world. Can't say I'm terribly surprised, though—it took me two tries just to get him over here. He must be subconsciously fighting what we're trying to do. Though the people in your little town seem to be out of your control as well."

DiZ's head seemed to twitch towards the side at Riku's last comment, apparently having hit a nerve. He was more than aware that he did not know the true nature of the heart, no one will—it was a dangerous thing to toil with, which was why he had stopped his research on it at that time, so long ago. _Nevertheless, surely this…this must be some kind of glitch._ He did, after all, tamper with that boy named Seifer. He _did_ have control…he _had_ to have control, or they would all be in danger. Cocking his head back, DiZ let out a small laugh. "My, I didn't know Naminé developed a tongue as rash as yours. What did she say about this?" DiZ questioned again, wanting a real response this time.

"…That the boy was using his friends as a way to combat Sora's memories. She seemed optimistic that things will calm down and that his restoration will go on smoothly," Riku replied without a struggle this time, though he didn't understand half of what Naminé had told him.

Letting out another laugh, DiZ smiled smugly, staring at a particular screen. "She had better be right, or I'll have to do more than merely toy with one bratty child." Riku looked at DiZ curiously, wondering what it was that he had already done, but he didn't verbally ask for clarification. Overlooking the boy's silent interest with what he had tampered with, DiZ closed his eyes and merely continued, contemplating aloud. "Naminé should know that everything rests on her shoulders."

Riku remained silent, casting his gaze off towards one side of the room. It must've been a lot of pressure for her, having the fate of all worlds depending on the restoration of the keyblade wielder. But because he knew this, too, he wasn't about to start making excuses for her. _Besides, she believed in me when I decided to keep my memories, as well as the darkness of Ansem,_ Riku thought, remembering back to the time he had spoken with Naminé in Castle Oblivion.

_"I want you to face the darkness, because you're the one who can."_

Clutching his crossed arms, Riku turned his head to look at the door that eventually led to the pod room. Someone he didn't even know believed in him. Even when losing the battle could endanger the very things he wanted to protect by facing his darkness. He could give her a way out, the way she had for him, but in the end, he knew, or rather hoped, that she would reject it as he did. _I want you to face this burden, Naminé, because you're the one who can._

Sapphire eyes blinked, looking up past the closed pod and at the pure white ceiling. "Riku?" The bleached-blonde girl uttered aloud, speaking as if she heard the platinum-haired boy's internal words. Pausing in her work, Naminé turned to look back at the door that eventually led to the computer room. Smiling at Riku's comforting presence within her, Naminé looked back at the sleeping Sora. "I won't be able to tell him off either if I don't do this, right?" she said with a laugh, remembering how that was Riku's initial reason for turning down her offer to lock his darkness away.

There might be hope for her yet, too.

xoxoxoxox

_"Whoa, hold it there, tiger. Have some breakfast before you rush out that door."_

Black-soled sandals with goldenrod yellow straps came to a halt at the sound of his mother's voice, and reluctantly they ran back towards the source of the sound, bopping up and down in impatience. _"But mom! Riku—"_

_"Riku probably hasn't even woken up yet, let alone reached the island. Now sit and eat, young man."_ His mother placed a big, healthy breakfast in front of the young Sora, who let out a groan before pushing himself up on the stool and grabbing hold of the fork. Naturally, his mother should have had a point. However, Riku, being older and wiser, no doubt, always seemed too hard working, getting up at the crack of dawn, most likely, to make the most of the day. Sometimes he wished he was more like Riku, and other times the thought escaped him as he was more carefree than anything.

_"He won't let me hear the end of it if I'm late…"_ Sora mumbled nevertheless to his mother's words, stuffing the sunny-side up eggs in his mouth. He opened his mouth to speak some more, but as he chewed, a smile crept upon his little face, and another forkful of eggs was placed in his mouth.

His mother laughed, placing a glass of orange juice in front of him so that her son wouldn't choke on all the food he was so suddenly eager to eat. _"Well, that's Riku for you, dear. You two try not to cause any trouble out there today, you hear?"_

Gulping down the drink, Sora nodded, though her words had gone through one ear and out the other. Jumping off the stool and running out the door, he made his way towards the beach, heading for his boat and pushing off towards the separate island. Before long, he could make out the small island that made 'Destiny Islands' plural, as well as the docks, where there was the waving hand of his best friend since they were both in diapers—Riku.

_"Late again, I see,"_ the little platinum-haired boy taunted, swinging his legs off the edge of the docks as he dangled them there. A faint smile came to the brunette's lips as he docked, tying his rowboat securely to one of the large posts before running up the beach and across the docks to join his friend at the top of the wooden planks.

_"I told my mom this was gonna happen,"_ Sora replied, setting himself down beside Riku and hanging his legs off the end as well. _"I knew I shouldn't have had those eggs."_

"_But, Sora, it's already past noon, you goof,"_ Riku retorted as he leaned forward to further point out that detail, and the both of them laughed—it probably one of the rare times that someone actually laughed _with_ someone else rather than _at_ them, even though most would say otherwise.

_"Haha, is that right? You didn't wait long did you, Riku?"_

Riku shook his head, motioning over towards Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, who were off playing on the sandy beach adjacent to where the two best friends sat. _"They were fun enough to watch, anyway."_ Though it had been a few hours since he had gotten to the island, Riku didn't want to upset his friend. Besides, he was used to being by himself, although that was never something Sora picked up on. He worded his last sentence in a way to hint exactly that, but his friend didn't catch on, as always. It was something Riku envied in his one and only true friend.

_"That right?"_ Sora asked rhetorically, glancing past Riku towards the three of his other friends. Looking back at him, he leaned back with his hands as supports, smiling. _"So now that I'm here, what do you wanna do, Riku?"_

Smiling back, Riku looked out at the waters before returning his gaze to Sora. _"Let's go for a swim!"_ With Sora's nod as an approval to the idea, Riku jumped to his feet and ran down the docks and towards the clear waters, looking back at Sora and laughing as the brunette ran to catch up with him.

xoxoxoxox

Closing his eyes tightly as he slipped from the dream world to the conscious world, Roxas slowly opened his sapphire eyes, eventually focusing on the plain, light brown ceiling of his bedroom. "It was…them, again," he said slowly to himself, remembering the first time he had dreams of them, which was only just a couple days ago. _They seemed a little…younger, though__,_ Roxas continued his brooding within the confines of his mind, raising a hand to rest behind his head like a pillow.

"Are they best friends?" the blonde asked aloud again as if speaking to his ceiling. Shaking his head in mild frustration, Roxas turned onto his side, his hand now turning into a side face pillow with the motion. Shutting his eyes, Roxas tried to run with the idea. Images of his first of many weird dreams came to him, with the silver-haired boy turning into Hayner, and him as the brunette. Reopening his eyes, he blinked for a moment before sitting up, wondering if it was all just pure coincidence.

_If they were how Hayner and I are, then maybe… _After a moment had passed, Roxas laughed, running his right hand quickly over the top of his head, never phasing his permanent hairstyle. "Nah," he said with a laugh, wondering why he was thinking so much about it anyway. What did it matter, even if they were? _It was just a dream. It's not like they mean anything._ Turning his head to look out his window, Roxas smiled at the scenery and climbed out of bed.

It was going to be a great day—he had got into the Struggle finals with his best friend. There was no reason for him to think about stuff like that.

xoxoxoxox

Dark-toned shoes waltzed into the Usual Spot, slowly coming to a stop as they neared two other pairs of shoes off in the corner of the large, messy room. Pence waved at him happily as Hayner jumped to his feet, running over towards Roxas and wrapping a hand lightly around his friend's neck.

"Pence, you gotta take a picture. This is surely a miracle that we cannot let us pass by! I wouldn't even believe it if you told me tomorrow!"

Roxas laughed lightly before grinning, wrapping his own arm around Hayner's neck. "What are you talking about? And where's Olette?" he added, taking another glance around and realizing they were missing somebody. He could feel a pang of worry in his gut, but he kept it at bay with the thought that there had to be a logical reason the brunette girl wasn't there already. Before he could get too deep in his thoughts anyway, Hayner had let go of him, causing Roxas to have to do the same.

"That's just it. Olette hasn't come in yet," Pence clarified, crossing his arms and putting a faint smile on, trying to cover his own concerns. Olette was usually up early—early enough to reach their hangout long before the rest of them ever showed up, anyway. He just figured that she had finally slept in when he came in first, but he began to think otherwise when Hayner showed up next, and now Roxas.

"To think, the tardiest person I know beat the most punctual person I know! The worlds are out of sync!" Hayner joked. He didn't show it, at least the way other people would, but the light blonde was a little nervous about the fact, too.

Forcing out a laugh, Roxas's grin quickly disappeared, a grave look settling in his usually bright eyes. Now he understood what Hayner had meant when he said 'miracle'. The day he was ever on time for anything, let alone coming in before Olette, was the day they'd all stop liking sea-salt ice cream—which was basically never. "Something must be wrong…" Roxas started, his mind racing towards the worst-case scenario. Haunting images of Olette, badly injured, flashed through his mind, the taunting laugh of Seifer playing like a broken record.

_"Rox…as…"_ the Olette in his waking nightmare managed to breath out, just barely, lying helpless in one of Twilight Towns endless number of alleys.

Whoever said fifteen-year-old boys didn't have a vivid imagination?

Feeling his heart race, Roxas gripped at his chest tightly, bunching up the black fabric of his shirt, which was worn under the open, off-white jacket. "You don't think…Seifer…" he trailed off, moving his gaze onto Hayner and Pence. The two of them looked back at him in surprise, as if they were thinking the same thing but never thought of saying it aloud, perhaps in fear that it might actually be true.

"But…there's no way, right? Seifer's not that bad, right?" Pence asked, almost pleading. What would he do if he lost his best friend?

"Probably not _that_ bad, normally," Hayner started. He knew how bad Seifer could get from personal experience, but attacking Olette, and to the brink of death, no less, seemed a little much, even for Seifer. He was willing to give him that much. "But…he's been acting strange lately. We all saw what happened a couple days ago," he finished, crossing his arms as he began to think hard about the situation.

Roxas shook his head, grabbing a fist-full of dirty-blonde hair. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing. _I knew I should've gone with her…I _wanted_to go with…_ Letting out an angry cry, Roxas dropped his hand by his side and made a fist. He'd never forgive himself if… "Well, I can't stay here," he started, turning around to begin walking toward the exit, though his eyes never left his two friends as he continued, "I'm gonna to go find—"

Roxas was cut off as he had bumped into something, and he closed his eyes at the impact, subconsciously wrapping his arms around the object in hopes that he could catch it so that it wouldn't fall over and break. Roxas did hear a couple of things drop around him, but what really shocked him was the 'oof' sound that had emitted from the object he was holding, which was also surprising warm.

Holding onto the entity tighter, Roxas slowly opened his eyes, which widened as they looked down upon a head of brunette hair. He blinked for a moment when he thought the hair was red for a second, but he soon pushed the thought away as he felt the girl shiver slightly.

Well, bumping into Roxas wasn't exactly what Olette had planned when she stepped into the Usual Spot that early afternoon. Neither was ending up in his arms—again. Not that she was really complaining, other than the fact that the large paper bag containing the last parcel that didn't fall out and a few refreshments were between the two of them, in her arms. It was both awkward, having it poke at her stomach, and made her nervous, afraid that if Roxas held on any tighter he'd squish the food she brought.

However, other than that, it was really nice. _I mean, who wouldn't like this? I feel…protected, safe, like he might actually…_ Olette closed her eyes tightly, forcing her brain to stop getting lost in her rather frequent, hopeful dreams, day or otherwise. After finally realizing—or rather admitting—why she was so aware of Roxas, she couldn't stop thinking about it the more she tried to do the opposite. It wasn't as if he'd really…no, she couldn't keep doing this to herself. "Um…Roxas?" Olette finally said, moving her head off his left shoulder ever so slightly in an attempt to look at him and read his expression.

Roxas squeezed her upper right arm and left shoulder, where his hands were lightly holding onto before. Was Olette really there in front of him? He had so much trouble with illusions and hallucinations or whatever they were for the past couple days he almost couldn't risk believing the sight before him. He wanted her there, with him, safe and well, where he knew Seifer, or anyone or anything else, couldn't harm her. She was his friend, his _good_ friend, his…his… _She's more than a friend,_he finished, internally, still unable to put his finger on what he's been feeling towards Olette. In any case, it was all even more of a reason for his mind to be playing tricks on him.

"Is this really you?" Roxas eventually asked, completely bypassing the silent explanation Olette was requesting.

Laughing gently, Olette nodded once, smiling inwardly. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it was still a very Roxas thing of him to say. "Of course, silly. Though, if you hold on any tighter, I think the sandwiches I made are gonna get squished." Looking up at Roxas as he loosened his hold on her, Olette smiled outwardly this time at the blank look on his face as he looked down at the large paper bag she had in her arms.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I just…" Roxas attempted to continue, but found himself at a loss for words. Somehow, he had managed to get himself into another embarrassing situation with the brunette girl. Before he could properly explain what he had did, Hayner and Pence finally made themselves known from where they were silently sitting back before, watching the scene play out with a mix of relief, confusion, and held back laughter, and walked towards them.

"Hey, what do we have here?" Hayner asked as he bent down to pick up one of the fallen packages from the floor, which was wrapped rather nicely.

Emerald eyes looked away from Roxas at the sound of the other blonde boy's voice and Olette pulled away from Roxas, quickly making her way over to Hayner, where she swiftly snatched back the item from his hands before he had time to investigate on the mysterious parcel further. "That's for me to know and you guys to find out," she answered with a wink, placing the package she had taken from Hayner into Pence's hands, switching it with the one Pence had picked up, to which she gave to Hayner.

"Gifts?" Pence asked, shaking his new box in an attempt to figure out what was inside.

"Right!" Olette validated, pulling the last box from the bag and holding it out towards Roxas, who smiled and took it.

"But, what for? It's not like it's any our birthdays or anything," Hayner questioned, giving his box a shake as well.

"For yesterday, you goofballs!" Olette countered, walking over to one of the clear wooden box surfaces and unloading the rest of the contents of the bag, which were sandwiches and a drink for everyone. "It's a thanks…for everything you guys did for me, and a congrats for all the effort you guys put out! Two of us did make it into the finals, after all." She turned around to face them after she had finished setting up, grabbing her right arm from behind her back and smiling.

"So that's why you didn't want us coming shopping with you…" Roxas said, smiling inwardly as he finally understood now.

"Thanks a lot, Letty!" Pence said, gaining the agreeing nods of Hayner and Roxas. With that, the three of them ripped off the wrapping and opened their presents.

"Whoa, the new camo shoes! I've been meaning to buy these since forever!" Hayner exclaimed, immediately kicking off his old pair and putting on his new ones. He never felt more complete in his life than walking around with those new pair of shoes.

"I know! They match your pants right? But with your track record with munny…" Olette trailed off, knowing Hayner knew very well what she meant. He always acted like he had munny, but when it came time to pool the group's munny together for various activities, he never had any munny to put in.

"This can't be…!" Pence exclaimed, pulling out a black instant camera and holding it up to his eyes.

"Well, we can't have our photographer using outdated equipment, now can we? If Fuu can use one, so can you!" Olette said, giggling and faking a pose when Pence pointed the camera at her. When the picture came out, he showed it to Olette, who laughed and crumpled a napkin into a ball, throwing it at him. With that done, three pairs of eyes focused on Roxas, who had already opened his present and was holding in his hand a shiny new metallic white skateboard with navy blue markings along the top of the deck and little wings on the sides.

"Twilight Playground's new brand of skateboards…" Roxas breathed out, holding it up in front of him. He had heard about them, and even saw a couple on the streets, but never had he thought he'd be holding one, and so soon at that.

"Maybe you won't be as late anymore, right, Roxas?" Olette teased, winking at him when he had lowered the board to look at her.

"Or he'll be even more late since he'll be off boarding all over town," Hayner joked, earning the laughs of everyone but Roxas, who was still in awe of the thing in his hands.

"Letty…this…everything…" Roxas said, glancing over at the gifts Hayner and Pence had gotten.

"They must've cost a fortune," Pence finished, understanding what Roxas was feeling.

Olette waved their worries away, taking a few steps forward. "Hey, you guys are worth it. I can't buy enough for you guys…you're priceless." Shrugging sheepishly at her rather corny words, she picked up the sandwiches and handed them each one. "Now eat! We gotta have some energy for whatever we're doing today, right?" The four of them began eating, but halfway through his drink, Roxas stood up, wiping his mouth clean of any sandwich crumbs.

"Going somewhere, skater boy?" Hayner joked.

"I bet he wants to try out his new skateboard," Pence added, joking alongside Hayner.

"Who can blame him? Look at that thing!"

"Hey now, you two leave Roxas alone," Olette butted in gently, earning a couple of laughs before the boys complied.

Coming to stop a few feet from the doorway, Roxas squeezed his skateboard before turning to look at his friends. "I just remembered that I had, uh…a family thing today. I'll catch you guys later, okay? And thanks so much for the gift again, Olette." Grinning as Olette smiled back at him, he lifted his free hand in a wave before walking out.

"He's totally going to try out that board," Hayner said, to which Pence had to stifle a laugh.

Shaking her head, Olette lifted her hands in the air before dropping them to her sides. She was a little sad Roxas didn't stick around, but if he was going to ride the skateboard, it made her feel better. _That's what it's there for, right?_ "What am I going to do with you guys?" she asked rhetorically before swinging her legs off the edge of the old couch that she sat on. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

Outside, Roxas bent down and placed the skateboard gently on the cobblestone ground, putting his right leg upon the middle of the deck and moving the board back and forth. He always used to rent a skateboard from the Tram Common, and became rather good at it, even on those heavily used, old boards—he was a natural. _But now, I have this brand new board that's all mine, all thanks to Olette…_

Smiling inwardly, Roxas pushed off with his left leg, making his way towards the Tram Common. His locks of dirty-blonde hair flowed back and forth with the amount of wind he was getting from his speed, and Roxas couldn't help but smile brightly at the feeling. It didn't take him long to reach the main area of where the shopping took place in Twilight Town, and he quickly headed towards the shop that sold the skateboards.

Rolling to a stop in front of the shop, the boy hopped off and stepped on the tail of the skateboard, grabbing the front end of it as it shot up in the air due to his movements. To his surprise, the announcer from the Struggle tournament was behind the counter, and Roxas gave a light smile as the announcer waved at him.

"Surprised, right? I just took over the shop today, since the old owner's a little too old to do it now. I'm so excited. So, what can I do for ya, Roxas?"

Gripping his skateboard tighter, he nodded at same type of skateboard as his that was being displayed on most of the shelves behind the announcer, and now shopkeeper. "Err, I'm thinking of buying one of those, and maybe some protective equipment."

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, already noticing the brand new skateboard that Roxas was holding. "You sure? Looks like you already got yourself one there, kiddo."

Blushing, Roxas glanced down at his board before looking back up at him. "I…got it as a very special gift. I just figured it was the least I could do to return the gesture."

Nodding, the shopkeeper crossed his arms, taking a look at the skateboards behind him before returning his gaze to the blonde. "That's a pretty good friend you got there, Roxas. These boards cost 750 munny a piece, and with that extra equipment you want as well, you're looking at almost 1000 munny."

Gulping, Roxas rubbed the back of his head. He knew they must've cost a lot for Olette, but he never imagined… _Plus all the other gifts she bought…she must've worked so hard for this, whether any of us made it to the finals or not._ Closing his eyes, Roxas smiled, nodding. "Well, I better get to work. Reserve me one, will ya?"

"Sure thing, Roxas. Good luck!"

With a wave, Roxas put down his board and made his way to the highest paying job he knew—the diner. It was just on the other side of the Tram Common, and soon he was pushing open the double doors and making his way to the counter, where Luna, one of the waitresses, greeted him.

"Back again I see. What can I do for ya, Roxas?" Luna asked, leaning her elbows on the counter and looking up at him with a tilted head, causing her bleached-blonde hair to gather at one side.

"I need 1000 munny before the end of the day, Luna. Hand me those deliveries!" Roxas said happily, hoping that if he sounded gung-ho enough, she would give him the job.

Luna shook her head as she stood straight, resting a hand on her hip. "Honestly, Roxas, do you think you can just waltz right in here whenever you want and pretend you have a job at the snap of your finger?" Roxas's expression dropped at her words, but Luna soon laughed when she saw that the boy had believed her. Turning around, she picked up the latest order that was waiting in the kitchen and handed it to him. "It must be something pretty special for you to come in here."

"She is," Roxas replied without thinking, clearing his throat when he realized what he said, or rather, what Luna had said. She didn't say anything about a some_one_, but a some_thing_.

"Don't be late with these, Roxas, or you won't get paid a lot!" Luna called as he made his way towards the exit.

Lifting up his board, Roxas smiled, opening the door with the back. "No worries! I got my own wheels now!"

It took him until early into the evening, but Roxas managed to do enough deliveries to earn 1000 munny. He had to cut out all the tricks on his skateboard that he wanted to try out or he'd never deliver the food on time, but he had another time planned out for that, so it all worked out in the end.

Sluggishly making his way into the diner after his last delivery, Roxas dropped onto a stool in front of the counter. Luna made his way over to him, now in regular clothes as her shift was over, smiling at him. "Hey, you did good, Roxas. Here's your well-earned munny."

Roxas sat up, smiling tiredly as he accepted the munny. "Thanks, Luna," he said, watching her walk around the counter and over towards him.

"Well, I'm done for the day, too. Mind if I walk out with you?"

Shaking his head, Roxas hopped off the stool and pocketed the munny as he grabbed his board, and the two of them walked out of the diner. His turn towards the shop came, and he turned to say bye to Luna, but she had already grabbed onto his arm. Rotating around to look at her curiously, Roxas blinked as a camera was held up towards him.

"May I take a picture with one of the Struggle's finalists?" Luna said in a cute voice, clasping the camera between her hands as she held them up in a sort of begging position. She knew it might be a long shot, considering it looked like Roxas had a 'girlfriend' of sorts, going by what he had said earlier in the diner.

Roxas blinked, wondering when he became a celebrity, and he was nodding before he knew what had happened. He wasn't going to be rude either way, anyway. Luna's face lit up and she quickly found someone who was kind enough to take the picture for her. Standing as close to Roxas as she could without touching him, Luna bent her left arm behind her back, raising her right hand to wave at the camera, smiling brightly.

Glancing at Luna, Roxas smiled faintly before moving his gaze to the camera, not realizing that the girl that was almost draped on him actually had a crush on him. The days just kept getting better and better for him. First, he got into the finals, and then he got the most amazing gift… _from the most amazing girl__…_ Without realizing it, Roxas was smiling rather happily, and the picture was taken.

Luna clapped her hands together, thanking the person who had taken it for her as she reclaimed her camera. "Thanks so much, Roxas," Luna said with a wink, waving as she went the opposite way, heading for home. Nodding his goodbye, Roxas continued the rest of the way to the shop, placing the munny on the wooden counter when he reached there.

"Ah, you managed to do it, Roxas. You're really determined," the shopkeeper said, pulling out the skateboard and the protective equipment, which was already wrapped together with a pretty bow.

"You betcha. I really wanted to do this," Roxas said, taking hold of the package.

"Hey, uh, you're my first customer since I took over the shop. Do you mind if we commemorate it with a picture?"

Roxas laughed lightly at the fact that it was his second photo in one day, waving off the shopkeeper's worried look from his outburst and nodding. He handed the package over to him, where he placed it behind the counter so it wouldn't detract from the photo, or cause either of them to get questions about what was inside, figuring it was a surprise for Roxas's friend and all. Finding another person to take the picture, the shopkeeper got back behind the counter, putting his hands upon the top as he grinned. Resting his right hand against the lower part of his hip, he smiled gently as the picture was taken.

"Can't thank you enough, Roxas," the shopkeeper said afterwards, returning the package to him. "I hope they really like it."

"Me, too," Roxas said, and he waved as he got onto his skateboard and headed home. _Me, too,_ he repeated in his mind, smiling at what he had in mind. Tomorrow was going be great; he could feel it.

_Restoration at 4%._

Ten more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes**: Murr, sorry this took so long to get out. I had major blockage for the beginning of this chapter. I only started writing it sometime last week. And then I got the stomach flu on Saturday, and that slowed the progress down even more. But I'm feeling much better, though not yet healed! Still, yatta!

This chapter was really supposed to be at least half of what it ended up being, minus all the A/N's. I have page upon page of ideas for this fic and for the RP I hope to make based on it, but it's really a lot of here and there things. But I just kept rolling on the whole TT Gang thing that it went on and on! But that's good, ne? I think. Like I said, nice Roxas x Olette action coming up, I hope. So I'll probably go on, if I'm lucky! Other than that, the chapters should be getting shorter until I hit where the game starts.

Hum, Roxas has a fangirl, ne? –pokes Luna- I dunno, I wanted to give an insight on how all those stolen pictures were taken in the first place, give them each a little story. Olette's got herself a secret fanclub of admirers, and it's only natural Roxas has one, too. I mean, look at him. -coughs-


	5. Time for Two

** author' s notes: **Hee, I find it amazing that people can still find this fanfic and read it and give opinions even after it's been weeks! Here I figured it'd be like on page 100, but I'm so happy to see that people can still read it!

Warrior of Virtue: Hee, I actually wasn't planning on Luna causing a love triangle, but thanks for the idea! And I must give show my appreciation for all that took the time to give an opinion! But it does feel special, ne? xD

Shiro-chan: I actually only knew what Olette should give Roxas and Pence! Poor Hayner took me forever—so I just gave him the shoes he was seen wearing in the game ._. Aha, Seifer's feelings may be a little more clear now… :O

Sakurakissu: Glad to be fulfilling Roxette needs across the world! xD And yes, Luna does have a crush on Roxas. Who doesn't? And sure, you're welcome to link me to all Roxette fans!

Shika: Haha, well, I don't know if they'll ever kiss…but it could happen! Haven't planned on it, yet, though!

Ayume: OMFG, yes, Namiku fan! You so rule. I'm glad to hear that everyone's in-character. Murr, about Luna/Jessie…I have no clue who she is! I never paid attention when shopping, for I did very little of it in Twilight Town. But I dunno, it could be her mom's shop, or a twin sister…! You never know. –coughs-

Postal Service: Yay for being interesting enough! Haha, thank you, Postal.

Silent Descant: -gaspu- Nyuu, don't be mad at yourself! You couldn't have known! Wowies, where to begin with all your wonder reviews! Square definitely did not spend enough time on the TT gang. But I do believe in the hints! And Olette ( Oretto - Japanese. I always wondered where Orette came from? ) is more similar to Kairi than Naminé. Roxas can PWN Seifer anyday, and Riku's way too hot and too cool to cover his midriff xD New Riku look is uber love.

I know the switching in the dreams may be confusing…it would make more sense if this was animated like the game! But I'm glad you got it eventually. Hayner was the one in the dream because Hayner is Roxas's Riku, not Seifer. Hayner and Roxas are actual best friends, like Sora and Riku. Seifer's just Seifer, Roxas's rival. They don't have the relationship that would make him Roxas's Riku. Hope that explains things.

The guy bonding time was totally straight, I swear! xD Seifer liking Olette and Luna liking Roxas…it's like a square! And once Hayner is put in everything, it'll make…that five-pointed shape! xDD; I'm glad you thought my fighting scenes were okay. I still feel uneasy about writing fighting scenes. Definite props to you for being a Namiku fan as well! There are not enough, just like Roxette! And nonsense, I love all of your comments! Domo.

Chiharu-tanaka: Aha, you should get one of those huge foam thumbs to help your poor thumb out xD And yatta! Another Namiku fan! You all rock. And yes, sorry for the long writing! Happy you're okay with it, though.

* * *

**Chapter V:** Time for Two

The crashing of the waves upon the sand was all that could be heard for miles, save for the crows of the birds that glided above the water or the ringing of the Clock Tower bell, which could always be heard wherever one was in Twilight Town. Soft white sandals trekked upon the deep khaki sand, the footsteps of black boots following afterward. Other than the two people, no one was at the beach, though it was probably way too early in the morning for anyone to be up and about, anyway.

As the two pairs of feet reached the water, the girl sat down, though the other remained standing idly by her side. The blonde looked up at the tall, hooded figure but said nothing, before moving her cerulean gaze out to the sea, which reflected the ever-present warm colours of the locked twilight sun. Amber eyes glanced down at the shoreline before them, where the foam that trailed after the receding waves were soaked up into the nearby grains of sand, discoloring them a damp, dark brown.

"The beach is nice, huh?"

The girl's words caused the hooded figure to look over at her before looking back out at the horizon. "I've seen better," he replied with a small smirk. It slowly disappeared, though, as the comment began to make him feel homesick. If this was what the girl was hoping for, then she succeeded. "Why did we come here, Naminé?" the boy asked, wanting to forget the feeling that was taking hold at the pit of his stomach. "Isn't there something else we should be doing? If they see us…"

Naminé shook her head, wanting to reassure the boy that she didn't bring him there to make him feel bad—she intended quite the opposite, really. "We'll probably never be able to see this town again after we're done with our business," she explained, touching on the other concerns that he had verbally said aloud. "We'll be leaving right away, right? So I thought it'd be nice for us to have a visit before then. The little break is nice, too, isn't it, Riku?"

Riku said nothing, continually staring ahead, and she went on, knowing he was listening without needing him to verify it. "As for them…if you mean _his_ friends…their memories have already been altered. What would be one more if they see us?" Naminé asked bitterly and rhetorically. She closed her eyes as she paused, slowly opening them to gaze back at the water. "If you mean the _other_ them…well, that's what you're here for, right?" she joked lightly, hoping he didn't actually think so brought him with her just to be 'the muscle' if anything were to go wrong. Naminé just really wanted to spend some time with the platinum-haired boy in a casual, informal setting, instead of the stressful times they spent together back at the mansion.

"Naminé!" Riku exclaimed, his voice completely serious. The XIII Order was no doubt searching of their kidnapped 13th member, and if the two of them were seen there, they would know his whereabouts and come for him. They couldn't have that happen…ever. It would jeopardize everything they worked so hard for. "That's nothing to joke about," he eventually added in a low voice. He wasn't upset that she probably only saw him as a fighting machine—that's what he told himself, anyway. _It's all I am, isn't it?_ Besides, she had to know that he couldn't fight what remained of the XIII Order alone and expect to win, even after obtaining the power of Ansem. Above all, he did not want to endanger Sora, and to think that Naminé would want the opposite was incomprehensible.

"Naminé…"

"I just…" Naminé started, cutting Riku off before he could say anything. She could tell that his heart was in chaos…that he probably doubted her and her intentions. "I just want to be with you," she finished simply, figuring the only way to make the boy understand was to put it bluntly.

It definitely caught Riku's attention, and he stared at her in surprise before a small smile lifted the corners of his lips up. Well, at least he knew she had good intentions, anyway. That, and that maybe he wasn't the only one who might be feeling something. It crossed out one uncertainty, but there were still many obstacles that stood in the way of a relationship. "Maybe…we can stay for just a little while longer. But then we _do_have to leave, Naminé."

Naminé looked up at the hooded figure and smiled inwardly. She didn't have to see his face to know how content he was about her words. Inching over so that she was sitting closer to his feet, Naminé bent her legs and hugged her knees to her chest. "Any time with you is good enough for me, Riku," she replied softly, almost too softly for the tall boy to hear, and a comfortable silence came between them as they looked out at the beautiful Twilight Town beach scenery.

xoxoxoxox

A pebble went flying down the downhill dirt path that led to the docks, kicked by one of two boys as they made their way towards the sandy beach. It was another bright, sunny morning on Destiny Islands, and this morning, to ensure that neither had to spend half the day waiting for the other to wake, the older of the two boys had picked up the other at their house. Now together, they were going to go to the separate island, most likely only to spend the time they saved to sit around and figure out exactly what to do with all that extra time.

As they followed around the curving path between a small grouping of houses, the two boys slowed down to move towards the side, making room for the mayor and two people who neither could remember seeing on the island before—probably because they never have. The older of the two new people, who seemed to be the grandmother of the other, was busy talking with the mayor, but the little girl, who seemed to be around their age, had stopped briefly to smile at them.

Sora smiled back happily, and after a moment of staring at the girl in complete awe, Riku faintly returned the grin, watching the girl run to catch up with her grandmother. From that moment on, Riku had never been the same person he was just seconds before. With the appearance of the mysterious girl, he learned that there were more worlds than just the one he lived on, and he became obsessed with wanting to travel to those other worlds. It was all thanks to her…

"_Hey, Riku, let's get going!"_ Sora said to him, pushing him lightly on the shoulder. Snapping out of his little trance, the platinum-haired boy nodded, taking one last look down the path where the girl just was before continuing out to the beach with his friend.

The image seemed to fade into static, and once restored it showed the two boys on the other island, on another day, walking towards a cave that would have been hard to spot unless one knew it was there.

"_I can't believe we've never been in here! We've lived here since forever! Great idea to check it out, Riku."_

"_Yeah…"_ the older boy answered a little distantly as the pair entered the secret cave, looking around the small space for something particularly interesting. The sun disappeared for the most part once they were in the cave, peaking only through cracks in the ceiling—other than that, it looked to be just a regular old cave. Riku seemed to be a little disappointed, as if expecting some doorway to another world to be hidden there, but the feeling was quickly replaced with mild hatred for the world he so desperately wanted to escape.

"_Geez, is that really all that's in here?"_ Sora asked as his friend approached him, taking a good look around the area as well.

"_What do you expect in a boring place like this?"_ Riku responded, his distaste evident, though as expected Sora didn't catch onto anything. Thinking hard to himself for a moment, he looked back at Sora, who was still inspecting the place, apparently fascinated by it despite what he had said. _"Hey, Sora,"_ he started, wondering how the other would react to the idea he was about to propose.

Snapping out of his little daze, Sora turned his head towards Riku, a smile upon his face as always. _"Hm?"_he answered curiously, wondering what was on his friend's mind.

"_When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"_Riku said, growing ever more passionate about his plan as he spoke of it aloud. It wasn't going to be one of those things that kids were so excited about one day and completely disheartened about the next. No matter what, Riku was going to visit all the other worlds out there.

Smiling brighter, Sora nodded, clasping his hands together and holding them up against the back of his head, and the two of them made their way out of the cave. He wasn't exactly sure what Riku meant, but it sounded thrilling enough for him. Besides, he was going to be with his best friend no matter what, so he'd back him up regardless of what they were going to do. _"Sure,"_ he agreed verbally, pausing as a more dire problem came to mind._"But isn't there anything fun to do now?"_

Feeling glad that Sora wanted to leave their rock of a home as much as he did, Riku pondered the question posed to him, his mind automatically going to the one person who had changed his entire outlook on everything. _"Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house…?"_

The scene cut abruptly, going static again, before showing another scene, one where Sora was leading the new girl towards the same secret cave. The other boy seemed absent, busy working on plans to make the dream to leave Destiny Islands a reality.

"_You're not gonna believe it, Kai—"_ Like a broken record, the footage cut off and repeated itself before skipping over the unfinished word and continuing. _"Riku and I didn't even realize this place was here until just recently. There's not much in there, but I still think it's cool."_

The redheaded girl smiled and nodded, following the boy into the hidden cave. As Sora had said, the place was rather barren, but she found something special about it that she couldn't put her finger on. Clasping her hands behind her back, the girl walked forwards, heading for the wall at the back that was near the wooden door that didn't seem to lead anywhere—it couldn't be opened, either way.

"_This place is cool,"_ the girl agreed, bending down to pick up a couple of rocks. _"It just needs to be given a nice, personal touch."_ Smiling, the girl offered the extra rock to the boy, who raised his eyebrows curiously, making his way near her to retrieve the outstretched rock.

"_What do you have in mind?"_

Smiling more brightly, the girl kneeled down in front of the wall, placing a hand upon the cold surface. _"Let's draw each other, Sora!"_

Smiling himself now, Sora bent down on one knee before the wall and nodded, liking the idea. _"That sounds fun!"_

With that, the two youngsters began drawing, smiling warmly at each other's work when they were done. The image blurred to that of an updated version of the picture, where an older Sora had added him giving the girl some sort of star-shaped item.

xoxoxoxox

Bringing a hand up to rub his right eye, Roxas let out a small yawn before he propped himself up on one elbow. "It looks like he wanted to give her a gift, huh…?" he whispered to himself, looking at the wrapped present he had bought the day before that sat upon the floor near his door. _Does he like her? Do I like…?_ Feeling his stomach fill up with butterflies at the thought, Roxas closed his eyes and flopped back down on his bed.

Well, he was sure the latter question was affirmative, though he'd have as much as a tough time telling _her_ that as much as he had a difficult time admitting it to himself. He was also well aware of how one-sided his feelings could be—girls weren't the only ones who agonized over such things. _Could Olette really…?_ Roxas wasn't even able to ask the question internally. Granted, the two of them did have their moments, and there was the gift…but was it just something good friends did for each other?

Running both his hands through his blonde locks in frustration, Roxas shook his head and quickly turned onto his side, moving his mind back onto the dream, as pointless as it was since it _was_ just a dream. If that Sora person liked the girl, what did that mean for Riku? Would it put a strain on their friendship? He wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but Roxas sensed Riku might have had a thing for the girl, too. And if everyone from his dreams were a manifestation of people he knew for real, then… "Haha, yeah, right. Then that means Hayner could like…"

So much for trying to get his mind off things. Everything seemed to lead to Olette, and that path only seemed to get more complicated the more he thought about it...or rather, tried not to but failed miserably and ended up thinking about her anyway. "Guess I shouldn't fight it, huh?" Roxas said, straining his eyes above his head to gaze at the blue lamp with the rotating fish that sat before his pillow. There was no way he was going to be able to stop thinking about Olette—he had been so stoked about what he had planned for today, it was no wonder he couldn't think about anything else. Thinking was getting him nowhere; he should just let things take it course.

Smiling brightly, Roxas got up and hurried to get dressed. He couldn't keep her waiting—besides, the gift she gave him _was_ supposed to make him more punctual, after all.

xoxoxoxox

Sneaking into the Usual Spot as quietly as he could, Roxas let out a silent sigh of relief as he saw that Olette was the only one there so far and that her back was towards him, allowing him time to briefly hide his gift without sarcastic remarks from the boys or a questioning look from Olette. When he turned back around after placing his skateboard down as well, Olette soon turned around herself, smiling when she caught sight of him.

"Hey, Roxas! Didn't hear you come in," she said cheerfully, making her way towards him.

Smiling brightly back at her, he shook his head as he went to meet her half way to close the distance between them quicker. "Just came in, really. Where's everybody else?"

"Pence is visiting is grandmother today. He says he'll bring us some nice homemade goodies tomorrow," Olette said with a giggle.

Roxas laughed a little himself, placing a hand upon his stomach. "Can't wait. His grandmother makes the best apple pies."

Nodding in agreement, Olette intertwined her fingers in front of her before continuing. "And Hayner's got himself a dentist appointment."

Roxas tried to stifle another laugh before he just burst out laughing. He knew exactly what that meant for his fellow blonde-haired friend. "With all that ice cream he's been stuffing down, he's bound to have a cavity or two."

Olette brought a hand to her mouth to cover her own laughter. "He'll swear off on ice cream, but he'll only manage to keep at it for a whole day before he's off eating it again like it's the only food in existence."

The two of them cracked up even more and as the laughter died down, Olette looked up at him a bit wonderingly, a secret hope hidden within her emerald orbs. "So, I guess it's just the two of us today…Unless you just want to meet up again tomorrow when everyone else is around." She had added the latter for Roxas's benefit, really—she didn't want to trap him with staying with her if he didn't want to.

Roxas's smile quickly faded and he shook his head. No…he didn't want her to leave, not when everything was working out perfectly. He didn't catch the hesitancy of the brunette girl's words, which would have told the blonde that she didn't want to leave just as much as he didn't want her to. "N-no! Please don't go!" Roxas started, swallowing when Olette had raised her eyebrows in curiosity to his slight outburst. He couldn't lose it this time as he always did in embarrassment.

"I mean…we're friends, right? You, Hayner and Pence have these times where you get to hang out by yourselves, but _we_ never really get the chance to, y'know? You're not afraid of me, are you?" he added jokingly, hoping she didn't catch on to what he was really saying.

Olette's heart was feeling like it was on a rollercoaster ride. She could feel it drop slightly at the mention that they were merely just great 'friends' in his eyes, though she was really grateful to have at least that relationship with him. When Roxas had said he wanted to spend time alone with her, she could feel her heart flutter up in happiness only to hover halfway as she struggled to define what that meant exactly.

Laughing a bit nervously at his joke, Olette shook her head—it wasn't so much that she was afraid of him, but rather afraid of what she might do that would drive him away from her. Being alone with him, with no distractions, meant she had less control on her feelings that she had for him. One wrong move towards her 'friend' could put an uncomfortable strain on their relationship, one that she couldn't live with for the rest of her life. "No, of course not, though that Struggle battle is making me think otherwise," she countered with a joke of her own, and the two of them shared another laugh together. "But…are you saying you _willingly_ want to go shopping with me?"

Smiling, Roxas waved his hands out in front of him. The idea was nice, and he would have to do that with her sometime, though he was certain she was thinking he was against the whole shopping thing altogether with that motion of his just then. Figuring he'd have to straighten that out later, he began to back up to where he had hidden his gift. "No, not today. I've got something a little better in mind."

"Oh?" Olette asked in a teasingly disbelieving tone, wondering what could have been better than shopping, though anything she did with Roxas would have been better than shopping. Crossing her arms, she smiled as she followed him, walking forwards. "And just what might that be?" She came to a stop as Roxas turned to grab something, and she gasped as he pulled out a wonderfully wrapped gift and held it out to her.

"Well, it starts with this," Roxas replied, smiling gently in hopes that she would accept his present.

Olette opened her mouth, but no words came out, unsure of where to even begin. She was beyond ecstatic that he was giving her a gift, but she knew that it was probably only payback for the gift she had given him the day before. She couldn't take the offer if that was the reason, for he'd only be doing it out of debt, not because he wanted to. "Roxas…you shouldn't have," she eventually said, picking somewhere to being at. "If this is for yesterday, you didn't have to do this. You enjoying your gift is thanks enough for me."

Shaking his head, Roxas took a step towards her, still holding onto the present. "No…I wanted to do this, I _should've_ done this, for a long time. Yesterday just gave me an excuse. Honest."

She looked at him reluctantly for a moment before a smile spread across her face. Nodding, Olette reached out for the present, their hands touching briefly as she acquired the package from him. "Thank you, Roxas. This really means a lot to me." Their hands had remained in contact for longer then she noticed or intended, her emerald eyes getting lost in the bright, smiling cerulean orbs of the taller blonde.

Clearing her voice slightly, Olette pulled away to make her way towards a nearby crate, excited to open the gift, though she knew she'd love whatever he had bought for her. Roxas stood close behind her as she tore away the wrapping, anxiously waiting for her reaction; he briefly wondered if he had made a mistake in getting what he got her.

"Oh, Roxas, you _really_ shouldn't have!" Olette exclaimed with a laugh, holding up the skateboard that was identical to the one she had bought for him.

"You don't like it?" Roxas asked worriedly, stepping around so that he was standing before her.

Olette shook her head, giggling at the rather cute look on his face, though he was completely unintentional on his part. "No, that's not it. I love it, I really do. I just…I've never skateboarded in my life."

Letting out a small sigh of relief, Roxas smiled and nodded over to the protective padding that was with the skateboard. "That's what those are for, right?"

"Roxas! I don't know _how_ to use this, silly! All the padding in the world won't be enough if I keep falling off the thing!" Olette countered with a small smirk, hitting him lightly on the shoulder when he laughed at her words.

"Well, that's what _I'm_ for," he replied, crossing his arms and giving her a playful 'all-knowing' look before going to grab his own skateboard from where he had placed it down when he came in. When he looked back at a curious Olette, he laughed slightly and continued. "You, a _horribly_ inexperienced boarder, plus me, a boarding_extraordinaire_, times a whole day ahead of us to practice equals you being _almost_ as good as me."

Opening her mouth in a fake offended gasp, Olette grabbed the rest of her equipment and made her way over to him. "So _this_ was the 'family thing' you had, huh? Well, just so you know, I'm game. Lead the way, Instructor Roxas, sir!" Laughing, Roxas nodded and the two headed for the Tram Common, settling themselves on the eastern part of the large area, near the hole in the wall that led to the Woods.

After putting on her elbow and kneepads, Olette buckled her helmet on, glancing at Roxas to see what was next. She was sure she looked like a dork, since most kids didn't bother with all the protective equipment, but unbeknownst to her, Roxas thought she looked very cute. He hoped she didn't feel uncomfortable with them on, especially since he didn't have any of his own to wear with her.

"Okay, first we're gonna work on your balance on the board. It may not be like skating, but balance is important with skateboarding, too. You gotta be 'one with the board' to do all the awesome tricks."

Olette smiled and nodded, stepping up onto her skateboard with both her feet. Roxas stood right in front of her, his skateboard off to the side. He held his hands up, palms upward, and continued. "You're just gonna try rocking from side to side, 'kay? You can start off with my support, if you want. I'll be sure to catch you if you fall, even if you do have padding, so no worries."

Giggling, Olette placed her hands on top of Roxas's, taking him up on his offer for support. She did it to hold hands with him as much as she did it for the real help she needed. Hey, two birds with one stone, right? Besides, she was feeling a little lightheaded hearing that he would catch her if she happened to fall.

Olette began to rock back and forth as instructed, squeezing onto Roxas's hands when she wobbled. He held tightly onto her hands, keeping her upright and giving her his silent encouraging words. Feeling empowered by both actions, Olette continued to rock, eventually pulling her hands away and gaining her own balance to rock on her own. Hearing Roxas clap at her success at the first stage, Olette hopped off the board, bobbing up and down as if she had just landed an Air Walk-Handstand-360 Spin combo.

Roxas laughed as he moved to grab his own board, ready to move onto the next phase. "That was a great job, Letty. Now that you have balance, we can start moving with the skateboard. It's pretty simple. Just put one foot on the middle of the board, and push off on the ground with the other. When you've got enough speed, place your pushing foot behind your other foot and ride it. When you begin to lose speed, just repeat." Placing his left foot on his skateboard, he pushed off with his right, demonstrating what he had just explained the Olette, who watched him go several feet away and come back.

"Turning is all about using your hips downward," Roxas continued, circling around the brunette. Olette made the mistake of turning her head to keep looking at him, and she found herself getting dizzy.

"Roxas!" she said with a laugh, and he stuck his tongue out at her before stopping.

"Your hips dictate where you're going, and your back leg makes it happen by pivoting and pressing down on the back of the board slightly. That's pretty much the basics of skateboarding."

Placing her hands upon her hips, Olette shook her head. "But you forgot the most important thing!"

Blinking, Roxas scratched the side of his head, drawing up a blank about what she was talking about. "Oh? What's that?"

"How to stop!" Olette replied, taking the time to stick her own tongue back at him.

"Stop? Why would you ever want to stop boarding?" he joked, dodging Olette's hand that had tried to hit him lightly. "That's easy. Just wait 'till you slow down. Or, if you need to stop immediately, touch your back foot to the ground every so often to create friction, or skim it along the ground like an anchor." Olette nodded and placed her left foot on her skateboard, practicing what Roxas had just taught her with him watching over her close by.

In the diner that happened to have a view of the area in which Roxas and Olette practiced in, Luna placed down the jug of fruit punch she was holding, much to the dismay of her customer, Seifer. "What does she have that I don't have?" Luna asked begrudgingly, watching the two on what looked like a date from her position. The blonde wanted to be the one who was good friends with Roxas, the one he looked so lovingly at, the one who was able to share his favourite pastime with.

Seifer let out an annoyed sound, hoping she would get the hint to continue pouring his drink, or at least let go of the pitcher so that he could do it himself. At this rate, she wasn't going to get a tip, and was probably going to be charged with some kind of offense that he could think up on the spot. "Maybe she actually finishes pouring people their drinks," he said sarcastically, letting out a frustrated sigh as he turned to see what had the waitress so enamored.

He seemed to pause briefly when he cobalt eyes fell upon a certain brunette girl, his orbs narrowing as they soon moved onto the chicken wuss she was with. It was no wonder Luna was so bothered—to see those two alone together, looking so happy and acting like they were the only ones in all of Twilight Town, was enough to take anyone's mind off what they were doing. "Tch. I still don't understand why she hangs out with such losers," Seifer muttered as he turned back around in his seat and stuffed a french fry in his mouth.

The tone of Seifer's voice caught Luna's attention, and the girl pulled her eyes away from Roxas to peer at the beanie-wearing blonde. "Oooh? What's this I detect? Someone wishing their Committee was a person bigger? Or maybe you're jealous of a certain other blonde. That's it, isn't it?"

"Ha," Seifer merely said, stuffing another fry in his mouth. He wasn't going to admit anything. "What're you trying to say?"

Smiling mischievously, Luna placed a hand on her hip, pouring the remaining fruit punch needed to fill the boy's glass. "That we just might be able to help each other out."

Putting down another fry that was halfway to his mouth, Seifer looked up at the girl, sensing she had a plan that could benefit them both. A smirk dominated his lips, and he held his glass up to her before taking a sip. _Heh, maybe the girl deserves a tip after all._

Back outside, Olette was making a return trip back to Roxas, manually stopping herself and running over to him happily. Before she realized what she was doing, she had her arms wrapped around him in a hug, one that came at such force that it caused the two of them to twirl around for a rotation or two. Laughing, Roxas hugged her back, ecstatic that she had loved her present and that his plan was a resounding success.

"I can't believe I just skateboarded! That felt so amazing! And it's all thanks to you, Roxas. You're a great teacher."

"Ah, it's nothing. You're a great student," he replied sheepishly.

As if realizing that they were still clinging to each other, the two of them pulled away, smiling shyly at each other when they did.

"Ah, well…" Roxas started, rubbing the back of his head. "We can use a break, right? I'll go get us some ice cream. Be right back."

Nodding, Olette watched him run off, looking back down at her skateboard. She got on and began to practice some more. As she neared a low-walled ramp, she bit down on her lower lip, wondering if she could do the same trick that she had seen Roxas doing before—a grind. Roxas would be so impressed with her if she was able to land it. She knew it was a long shot, especially since he hadn't taught her the trick, but she figured nothing could really go wrong with all the padding she had on.

On the downward slope, she attempted to jump up, and although she managed to get some air, it wasn't enough to land on the wall properly. Her board hit the wall at a bad angle, and her back foot twisted in an attempt to regain some control. With a cry, Olette flipped over the side of the ramp, landing rather roughly on the stone-interlocked ground some feet below. Cringing at the pain that rocked her nerves, Olette moved her feet to give her something to push on when she tried sitting up, but she ceased movement when of her feet pulsed in pain.

Momentarily frightened, she quickly wiggled her toes from within her shoes, relaxing slightly when they did move. Her foot wasn't broken, at least. At most, her ankle was sprained, but all she knew was that she needed some ice.

Roxas soon returned with two wrapped sea salt ice cream popsicles, and he came to a stop as he realized that Olette wasn't where he had left her. He looked around, wondering if she decided to practice a bit more while he was away. Hearing a whimper coming from the area below, Roxas went over to the small wall to check, the ice cream crashing to the ground when he saw that Olette was the one who had cried out.

"Olette!" Running down the ramp slightly, he jumped over the edge, landing on one knee, before he quickly made his way over to her. "Olette! Are you okay? What happened?" he asked worried, placing a hand on her shoulder at the look of pain she tried to hide on her face.

"Roxas…I'm sorry. I tried to do a trick but my ankle…I just wanted to make you…" Olette trailed off as she brought a hand up to her mouth, her emerald eyes sparkling as tears began to light them up. She never felt so ashamed, and she knew Roxas would blame himself, which she didn't want at all, especially when it was anything but his fault.

Roxas looked at her worriedly. He did, in fact, blame himself, for a number of reasons, but he knew if he said that aloud it would only make Olette feel worse, which was the last thing he wanted. Dropping his gaze as he thought of what to do, he got into a crouched position and turned around so that he back was to her. Looking at her over his shoulder, he reached his hands out backwards towards her. Olette gave him a questioning look, wondering what he was doing, or what he wanted her to do.

"Climb on my back. I'll take you to the nurse. You should take it easy on the leg, and you'll probably take half the day getting there if you try to limp there yourself," he added as he joked lightly, as much as it pained him to do, smiling at her gently.

Olette weakly smiled back, though one thing did make her second-guess the two of them leaving. "But Roxas, the skateboards…" The two of them leaving meant the skateboards would be left unattended. As much as she believed in the good of people in Twilight Town, there were still bad people out there. Leaving two brand new skateboards was risky.

"The boards won't mean anything if I don't have someone to ride with…" Roxas said softly, before smiling brightly, a look of conviction in his eyes. He would never let anyone take away the one thing the two of them shared together—not ever. "Don't worry…the skateboards will be here when I come back to pick them up. I promise."

Nodding, believing deeply in his words, Olette pushed herself up on her feet, hopping over to Roxas, who lifted her up on his back. Hoisting her up slightly to make sure he had a good grip on her, he began to walk towards the nurse's office. Olette clasped her hands tightly together, her arms wrapped lightly around his shoulders and neck. Things always seemed to go bad when they were together, like some secret, hidden force was trying to break them apart before they were even together.

Like the future was trying to do them both a favor.

_I'm never letting go of him, though. They say tragedy brings people closer together. So I won't let one bad outing alone together stop me from doing it again,_ Olette thought, resting her head upon Roxas's left shoulder. _Even if he won't ever feel the same way towards me. I'll always be by his side. Always._

"This isn't a little better than shopping," Olette said, referring to what Roxas had said earlier back at the Usual Spot. Roxas shifted his head towards her slightly, feeling a dread rise up within him.

"…It's a million times better," she finished, clinging to him more tightly as she closed her eyes.

Slowly letting out a huge sigh of relief, Roxas beamed, his face shining as brightly as the trapped sun of Twilight Town. He was certain his plan had gone from great to horrible, but Olette didn't seem think so, which was all that mattered. He wasn't able to tell her how he felt, but he still felt like he was on top of the world. It really had been the best day, Olette was right.

_I'll never let go of you, Olette, even if the stars are trying to tear us apart. I will_ always _be here for you…I promise. Even if you might not feel the same way…_ Roxas looked up at the sky as he continued on towards the nurse's office, wanting to find something in which he could vouch his eternal promise to Olette on. Figuring he'll find something later, he took a glance at Olette, smiling inwardly; she looked beautiful even with her eyes closed.

_Restoration at 7%._

Nine more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes:** I should really have put disclaimer at the beginning of this chapter: Do not attempt to learn how to skateboard by using my fanfic. Doing so may, and most likely will, result in major injuries, none of which I will take responsibility for, since it's really not my fault... Haha, jeez…I haven't ever touched a skateboard. I wonder if I explained things accurately enough?

Anyhow, this chapter is by far my most favourite so far. Some pretty good Namiku, amazing Roxette, nice Sora memory—at least in my opinion. If anyone saw the Final Mix scenes, the memory from the previous chapter was from there. Save for the first scene, the two other memory scenes in this chapter could be seen in the regular Kingdom Hearts, I believe.

With the whole Luna x Roxas thing…I wasn't actually planning a love triangle with them at first. She was just his fangirl! But then it seemed like an interesting idea when I read some of your responses, and I played with it—it gave Seifer some things to do. Heh, silly people should be leaving poor Roxas and Olette alone. They've got more then enough on their plate. But I wonder what those two are planning…?


	6. Just the Four of Us

** author' s notes: **Waaah! Gomen ne! This chapter's in over a month since the last update. I blame work… I hope the chapter's worth the wait o.O

Warrior of Virtue: Hee, you always seem the first to comment! I believe we settled that FM movie thing a while ago, ne? Wasn't it great?

dEEjayXiAN: Yatta, another Roxette fan! Hmm, what are Seifer and Luna planning indeed? xD You'll see!

Shiro-chan: Waai! –glomps- I read that story you got! I'm loving it! - Update that soon!

Anywhoo, nah, I'm not genius xD; Cruel is what that square is, heehee. Yes, the ending was the best. Isn't it so annoying when two people feel the same way about each other but never end up saying it? Wai, is Naminé the type to kiss him like that? Maybe later…especially when Riku's back to normal xD

Chiharu-tanaka: I know, wasn't that like the sweetest line eva?I will give Namiku and Roxette the best love I can!

Katchi: Heh, yes, I don't think Naminé wants to start doing anything to Ansem-Riku just yet xD That'd be WAY too weird.

Ahika: Most definitely, girl! –luffles the fifth chapter- I don't think I can beat that chapter anymore

NeverGoodbyeRoxas: -blinku- Seifer and Luna? Never thought about that, but with the way they're hanging out, it could happen xD. But you're right—they can't break up Roxas and Olette! I'm not letting Kairi's little Nobody break them up, so there's no way Seifer and Luna are gonna succeed xD;

JoJo Into The Rush: Awwies, arigatou gozaimasu!

Doki xiii: -huggles lots- If I had the skillz to make a FMV, I would totally animate my story xD OMG, yes, it's a pentagon xD I always hated geometry. I think Hayner's feelings are showing a little in this chapter…or maybe not? -gaspu-

And I realized that yes, Riku really must be steaming hot walking around in that XIII Order outfit. He's been through so much, though, I bet it's nothing..though I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Roxas is a smart cookie. He's perceptive, that's why.–noddles- Silly, Luna didn't trouble Seifer's drink, and the skateboards…! You'll see!

Ayume-Yuku: Hee, that's quite all right. Yes, I think we all agree—Chapter V will never be beaten now xD; And wowies, rereading? It's that good? –blush-

* * *

**Chapter VI:** Just the Four of Us

Cerulean eyes looked down at a candid photo that was being held by both of her pale hands, the image of a rather happy looking couple spending the day skateboarding being reflected in her eyes. The picture began to become distorted, though, as tears began to gather. For someone who didn't have the ability to really 'feel', she felt a pang of pain where her heart would have been. It was probably _because_ she had that emptiness that the pain was so much more intense.

It wasn't fair. Why did she…he…_they_…have to be destined to return to the darkness? At least…that's where she believed they would end up. Most people like DiZ were certain that they belonged nowhere else but there. _But that's not true…_ Naminé thought, clutching the photo closer to her chest. _He belongs with her, here in Twilight Town…and me…with Riku, on Destiny Islands. That is where we belong…that is where our hearts lie._

_Within them._

"Hey, what's that you're holding? A new drawing?"

Before the light-haired girl could pull out of her thoughts, the owner of the deep voice reached around from behind her, plucking the photo from her grasp. The man had opened his mouth to let out a laugh and some witty comment, but none came out as his uncharacteristic amber eyes fell upon the content matter of the object in his hand. His mouth closed and his eyes hardened—why did looking at that guy always rub him the wrong way?

Gasping, Naminé turned around and looked up at the tall, hooded Riku, instantly noticing the look he had on his face despite the fact that half of his face was shrouded in the shadows the hood gave off. Everything had gone so nicely at the beach yesterday—it was one of the rare times she ever seen the troubled boy in a fraction of peace—the last thing she wanted was to see was a pained or angered look upon his face, even if it was a cover for DiZ half the time. "Riku…" Naminé started, unsure of how to explain since she knew whatever she said wouldn't exactly make him feel better.

Riku said nothing for a moment, his face expression now devoid of emotion, wanting to mask the variety of emotions he was feeling. "…Either you became rather good at realistic drawing, or you've been doing some spying."

Noticing that he was he taking a neutral route, going into his 'working for DiZ' mode, on questioning about the photo, Naminé closed her eyes, unable to tell if she should be happy or not about that. "It's not what you think. It's for her. I did it for her…for them."

Riku was about to mention that he didn't say anything about what he thought, but was sidetracked by the other piece of information that Naminé had said. "For her?" He repeated, focusing on the brunette girl in the picture.

Naminé nodded, opening her eyes and looking over the top of the picture. "She _will_ forget him…that much is certain. It's already happened. But she'll remember him, too, especially if my plan works out well. I don't know how long it'll take, but she will. This picture will be for her…to help regain her memories. So she won't feel like she's alone, even when she's with her friends."

Gloved hands twitched as they held the picture, the blonde girl's last comment especially hitting a nerve within him. Even with friends like Sora and Kairi, he'd always feel alone, somehow—alone in wanting so badly to leave the island, alone in working so hard to build the raft to do so. And now that the two of them were even closer with whatever they wished to call the next step in their relationship, he'd feel even more alone—ecstatic for them, but so alone. Even more so since…

"I know what it's like to be forgotten... I wouldn't want him to feel—"

"Do you think it'd be any easier for her to remember him?" Riku said, his voice a mix of pain and anger as he cut Naminé off completely. "To remember the one you care so deeply for and knowing that you can never be with them, or see them again? Would you rather fill the void with that pain?"

Cerulean orbs widened at Riku's low and controlled outburst, knowing he was speaking for himself as much as he was speaking on behalf of Olette—perhaps even more so since she hadn't directly tampered with his memories. But she had offered him the chance to erase his darkness, and the memories that came with it—was he saying that he wished for the opportunity now? It was rare for him to show his feelings, even if he hid it subtly, and so it was the only conclusion she could come up with.

Naminé clenched her hands into fists lightly, bowing her head down so that her bangs covered the windows to her soul. "But…me, and him, would be feeling exactly that. You'd rather remember me, and the good times that we had, along with the bad ones, and suffer through the pain, than to never remember me at all, right, Riku?"

Before the words could sink in or before he could reply, Naminé had turned around and exited the hallway they were standing in, heading for Sora's pod room at the end of the hall. When the door was closed behind her, Naminé leaned against it, clasping her hands behind her back and looking up at the ceiling, her eyes filled with sorrow. _Right…Riku?_ As selfish as it seemed, Naminé didn't offer to alter Riku's memories…she didn't want to lose him.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the photo still held in Riku's hand seemed to short out briefly, being only of data in that world, as if giving some sort of warning—one of an intrusion and danger. The photo soon returned to normal, though, and the change went unnoticed.

Left alone in the hallway, Riku blinked, wondering what Naminé was talking about. He was certain he was being as general as possible when he spoke, but she had gone all personal on him. Did she realize that he was speaking slightly about how he felt? Her first comment also hit him by surprise. He never realized that that would be exactly how the two of them would be feeling…how insensitive could he get? It definitely wasn't on purpose, though. He didn't mean to…and now he probably hurt her feelings.

You're _right, Naminé. I'd never give up the pain…not for all the wonders in the world. One memory of you, even if it's a bad one, is worth every pain that stabs at my heart._

If only he said that to her—if he was as much as a sap as Sora was. Closing his eyes, Riku turned around and headed back to the computer room, his head hung low—it didn't seem like he could do anything right lately. It didn't help that he was still new to what he was feeling towards her, and relationships and the like. It was different from what he felt with Kairi—that was completely one-sided, and though he never regretted that, it partly continued because he was rivaling against Sora. However, with Naminé…it seemed to go both ways…and it was real, genuine. It was just his luck that everything he cared about was taken away from him.

_If only._

xoxoxoxox

"_Well, well, what do we have here?"_

Sapphire eyes narrowed as they followed the pacing of a blonde boy before him. The boy's image flashed between that of a younger and older version of him, as it did for the one who the eyes belonged to, as if the memory was spanning two different time periods. The pacing boy stopped, looking down at the fellow blondie that was on his knees in front of him. The two of them, along with two other people who were backing the once-pacing blonde boy, were standing in a rather secluded area of the town. It was a large dead-end square leading from an alley, one where piles upon piles of junk littered the closed off area—the owner of the place really did need to hire someone to clean it up for him.

The boy on his knees had just awoken there for some reason, appearing out of no where, it seemed. The trio must've been patrolling nearby and came across him in the process. However, it was a different story for the younger version of himself, who had been dragged there by the leader of the trio while just walking peacefully around the Tram Common.

"_I _really_ don't like outsiders,"_ the older beanie-wearing boy muttered, the end of his sentence fading away and merging with the sentence of that of his younger self. _"You've got troublemaker written all over you. I'm sure I'll get a promotion thanks to you,"_ the little Seifer added, turning to smirk at Fuu and Rai. The three children laughed, closing in on the kneeled-down boy.

"_We're gonna pummel you, y'know?"_ The tanned boy said, making a fist and punching it into his open palm. Behind them, the scenery seemed to fizz and cut several times before another trio entered the closed-off area—a brunette girl and two boys, one blonde and the other ebony-haired. This time, everyone's two forms seemed to be visibly merged, as if the events that transpired next happened in both periods exactly the same way at that point in time.

"_Hey, what you up to, beanie boy?"_ the two Hayners called out innocently as he, Pence, and Olette ran up towards them.

The doubles of the people continued, and the two Seifers pulled their attention away from the boy in front of him to glance at Hayner and his group, a smirk dancing upon their lips. _"Not that it's any of your business, lamer, but I believe this punk to be a troublemaker. And I deal with anyone who I think is a troublemaker by giving them a poundin' or two."_

"_But I told you, I'm not—"_ the combined voices of the blonde boy began, speaking in his defense, before Seifer had turned around sharply, causing the boy to stop talking altogether.

"_Hey, did I tell you that you could speak, troublemaker__?"_ Seifer asked angrily. The blonde boy's eyes narrowed, a hand, which had black and white rings on two of the fingers, forming into a fist. Seifer, too, readied to strike a blow, but both Olettes stepped forward and spoke before either could act on their raging emotions.

"_Stop it, Seifer. You know he hasn't done anything wrong."_

The periods began to shift again, reverting back to the previous time, where the children were younger; it seemed that the events afterwards were not the same in both times. It was Pence's turn to speak, and he stepped forward to join his two friends who had already spoken out. _"Yeah! I bet your mom's not gonna be so happy if she learns you're picking fights again,__"_ the ebony-haired boy added, crossing his arms and smiling.

Time changed once again, and an older Hayner laughed at his friend's comment. _"Getting grounded during summer vacation would really bite, don'tcha think?"_ Hayner finished, resting an arm on Pence's shoulder as he snickered again at the fellow blonde.

The two Seifers circled around towards Hayner, Pence, and Olette again, glaring at each and every one of them. It was apparent that something they said hit a cord with the beanie-wearing boy, for he let out a frustrated cry before he began to walk towards the exit that was behind the trio, motioning for Fuu and Rai to follow suit. Brushing against Hayner roughly, forcing the boy to remove his arm off from Pence, Seifer lifted a hand in the air as he left. _"I'll get you lamers back later, just you watch,"_ he said as his parting words, disappearing around the corner.

With the tension gone, Olette let out a sigh of relief; Pence shook his head and Hayner dusted himself of Seifer's germs. Simultaneously, the trio glanced at the lone blonde boy left behind, who was straightening himself out from where he was kneeling down on the ground.

"_You okay?"_ Hayner asked as they made their way over to where the boy was. The boy looked up at them and nodded, smiling ever so slightly.

"_Yeah, thanks,"_ he replied, rubbing the back of his head as if embarrassed or at a loss for words.

"_Don't mind Seifer. He's a jerk with a capital 'j',"_ Pence said. _"If you ever need help again, you should call us. We'll never turn down an offer to show that guy up."_

"_The name's Hayner, by the way. That's Pence and the pretty girl's Olette,"_ Hayner stated, figuring it'd be nice if the boy had names to go with the faces if he ever did take Pence up on the offer. He received a light hit to the shoulder blade from Olette for the comment, which the brunette girl believed the blonde was being sarcastic about.

"_Roxas,"_ the boy replied, introducing himself. A confused expression dominated the older Roxas's facial features afterwards, though, as if he wondered how he came up with the name. The look was nowhere on the younger Roxas, though, as he wasn't in doubt of his name—his parents had named him, after all.

"_Hey, Roxas…we're all going for some ice cream,"_ Olette started, looking at her two friends before she bent down slightly and held her hand out towards him to help him up to his feet. She tilted her head to the side, smiling warmly. _"Wanna come with?"_ Roxas seemed to stare up at her for forever before his faint smile became stronger. Nodding, he grabbed onto her hand.

The four of them had never been apart since.

xoxoxoxox

A gasp escaped from Roxas's lips as he woke, pulled from his time-jumping dream and back into normal time. Breathing heavily, sapphire eyes eyed the room around him, needing to reassure himself that he was back in reality. For some reason, he had dreamed about the first time he had met Hayner, Pence, and Olette—that fact in itself wasn't so scary. What scared him was the fact that the dream…the _memory_…was not clear. Times shifted, the scenes changed…it made him doubt if he really remembered it at all.

And _that_ frightened him.

"Well, I'll just ask them about it…" Roxas said aloud, trying to reassure himself. Things were weird enough in his life, with dreams about people he didn't know, then the dreams invading when he was awake, Seifer, and feeling like some invisible force was trying to separate Olette and him. He didn't need things to get worse, and hoped his lapse in memory was just that, and nothing more. That, at least, was something normal. To be honest, Roxas wasn't sure he could handle any more odd things happening. Soon he was going to start thinking that it wasn't just some coincidence, and those were going to be dangerous thoughts—and a pretty serious matter, to boot.

"Ah, I'll probably get yelled at for forgetting," he added with a laugh, able to cheer himself up slightly. Jumping out of bed, he went to get ready to meet up with his friends.

xoxoxoxox

"Olette broke both her legs?"

Roxas and Pence let out exasperated sighs, the former hitting his forehead with his free hand, the other hand holding onto the pair of skateboards he had retrieved yesterday, while the latter rolled his eyes, his hands wrapped around a paper bag that contained goodies from his trip to his grandmother's. The three boys had just left the Usual Spot, meeting up there before they left together to go to Olette's house, which was situated in Station Heights. Apparently, she had called them all over, as Pence said, relaying her message that he was told yesterday when they were talking on the phone. Roxas had just finished explaining what he and Olette had done the day before when the two of them were gone, and Hayner had yelled out, completely throwing Olette's injury out of proportion.

"_Sprained_, Hayner. Roxas said Olette's _ankle_ was _sprained_," Pence said slowly, trying to get their leader to understand the situation.

"That's not how I see it. I mean, we're going to her _house_. I can't even remember the last time we were there, let alone _inside_ any building! We're almost always hanging out outdoors," Hayner explained, waving his index finger back and forth as if punishing the pair for not having the thinking process that he had. "It must be a pretty serious injury. Maybe her legs broke after you left her at the nurse, Roxas."

"I'm surprised she got on a skateboard. I didn't realize she knew how to board," Pence said, ignoring Hayner's lack of common sense.

Roxas bowed his head down as his two friends spoke, his spiky hair covering the pain that was etched in his eyes. "It's all my fault," he whispered, his grip on the skateboards tightening. Hayner and Pence instantly quieted, looking at the blonde with sadness, feeling bad that they were too inconsiderate towards him. Here they were, poking fun and talking lightly about the situation, when Roxas had been there, experiencing the fear, the guilt, everything, first hand. "It was my idea to go skateboarding…I was a lousy teacher…I—"

A hand that hit him a tad roughly on the head stopped Roxas abruptly. Rubbing the spot on his head, he looked up to the owner of the hand, Hayner, who was staring ahead rather seriously. "No one here blames you, and I bet Olette feels the same way. So don't beat yourself up, man. That's my job," Hayner added, referring to the Struggle tournament, finally moving his gaze Roxas's way and smirking.

"Mm, I know Olette was truly very happy about learning how to board. She once told me that she'd love to learn after we all saw you boarding for the first time. Telling her you regret giving her that happiness will make her sad, right?" Pence added with a smile, patting Roxas on the back.

Lifting his head up, Roxas's face lit up, knowing they were absolutely right. _"This isn't a little better than shopping…It's a million times better."_ The words Olette had said to him yesterday echoed in his mind. There was no way he wanted to regret anything about that day, especially when he, too, was just as happy as she was. Laughing, Roxas wrapped his arms around Hayner's and Pence's necks, the three of them soon laughing together. Roxas's laugh unnoticeably faded, though, as he remember the dream he had had that morning—how could he forget the first time he ever met the most greatest friends he ever had? He didn't have time to dwell on the thought, though, as they were now in front of Olette's house, and Pence freed himself from Roxas's grasp to knock on the door.

To their surprise, it wasn't Olette's mother who had opened the door, but Olette herself, fully dressed with her ankle wrapped tightly in white cloth bandages and a smile upon her face. "Hey! You guys made it in pretty good time—I'm impressed. I should get injured more often if it causes you to come on time," she joked, continuing on without noticing that the boys weren't laughing at all. "Come in, though we'll be leaving soon. I just have a few things more to put in the basket; I hope you don't mind."

Olette hobbled away from the doorway, leaving the door open for her friends to enter. A moment or two passed by and the boys stayed glued to where they stood, honestly too shocked or at a loss for words to do much else. Realizing she was the only one walking into the house, the brunette girl returned to the doorway, staring back at Hayner, Roxas, and Pence with a slightly worried look in her eyes. "Uh, guys…?"

"Is it really okay for you to walk, Letty? I can run to the nurse's office and get you some crutches," Roxas started without noticing, taking a few steps forward to help her if she needed it.

"We're leaving soon? Where're we going? What're we doing?" Hayner questioned, seemingly more concerned about the fact that they walked all the way over to her house only to be leaving shortly rather than whether or not Olette could even make the journey there. That wasn't the case, of course—Hayner just always seemed to show he cared in the oddest ways.

"Basket? Do you already have snacks? You never mentioned anything yesterday, so I brought the goodies from my grandmother's like I always do…"

Olette stared back at the boys blankly for a moment, surprised at the feedback she actually got instead of the regular 'nothing' answer she'd usually get. Smiling faintly, as it was one of the rare times her guys would show some life in them, it turned into a reassuring smile as Olette looked at Roxas, hoping to ease the boy of his worries. She could still remember the expression he had on his face when she was getting his ankle examined, as it was making another appearance just then. Olette had hoped that he would be feeling better now, but it seemed things left a deeper impression on the boy then she realized—things bigger than just her slight injury. She wondered, for a fleeting moment, if there was nothing that she could do for him...nothing at all.

"No, it's okay Roxas, really! My ankle's sprained, not broken. I'll just have to go easy on it, but I don't want to put a hamper on things and let that stop us from doing something fun. I can't believe you're going with Hayner's story," she added jokingly, snapping her gaze over to the other blonde, who immediately tensed and raised his arms up in defense, looking around and wondering why he was so easily singled out.

"Hey, how'd you know it was me who brought up the broken leg gag?" Hayner asked as if completely astonished at her deduction.

"Only you could manage to trick Roxas into believing that when he was right there in person when the nurse said it was sprained," she answered knowing, and the four of them burst into laughter. The brunette sneaked a few glances at Roxas, thoroughly ecstatic to see laughter emitting from him. They all knew that Roxas didn't believe a word Hayner said about his broken leg theory and that he was way too stressed about it, and sometimes one just had to poke fun at the serious stuff and lighten up a bit. It wouldn't heal anything, but it was a start.

"And we're all going for a picnic on Sunset Hill," Olette continued, returning her attention to Hayner. "I know it's not terribly exciting, but since I seem to have a broken leg and all, it's just right. Therefore, the treats are perfect, Pence! I left those out especially, knowing you'd bring them." Smiling at Pence, Olette waved her friends into her house, finally ushering them in and closing the door behind them, as they seemed content with her responses.

"Guess the 'rents are AWOL, eh, Olette?" Hayner inquired as the group made their way towards the living room. The brunette let out a laugh, wondering what troubling idea he was thinking of now, and merely let out an affirmative sound, not wanting to give him a chance to elaborate. Finding himself rather entranced by the interior of Olette's house, as it was rare that he was in Olette's house, Roxas had almost forgotten about the skateboard he held in his hand.

"Oh, Olette, here," Roxas said, holding out her skateboard towards her when they had reached the living room. Olette stared at the board for a second before her face lit up. Taking hold of the outstretched item, she hugged it closed to her and smiling warmly at Roxas.

"Hey, they were still there, like you promised," she said gently, though wondered if he remembered something as silly as that. To her elated surprise, Roxas smiled back and nodded, holding up his skateboard close to him as well—the boards had their meaning back again. "So we'll be able to board together soon, right?" Olette added hopefully, a blissful, private moment happening between the two as they stared at each other. It didn't last long, though, as it was broken by the confused, piercing gazes of Hayner and Pence.

Clearing her throat, Olette closed her eyes and mentally hit herself on the head for saying something so cheesy to Roxas, and in front of Hayner and Pence, no less. "…So I can show you guys my new moves, of course," she added with a small laugh, hoping her equally lame excuse would be believed.

Hayner and Pence nodded slowly, still feeling a bit lost as it seemed Roxas had left out some bits in the story he told them. Roxas's expression dropped slightly at Olette's added sentence, though he hoped it wasn't noticeable. There he was, thinking that Olette wanted to spend some more time alone with him—a good sign, he thought, figuring he'd be one step closer in telling her his feelings. However, it seemed he had misread things, and it was a group get-together—a far cry from being alone, and even farther from him being able to tell her how he felt.

Roxas eventually nodded as well, and Olette's expression dropped, too, though she hoped it wasn't noticeable. _I guess…he is only comfortable when we're in a group, not alone together…_ Giving her head a nod, both in finalizing the group skateboard showing and in understanding that her feelings towards Roxas were probably one-sided, Olette then excused herself to finish packing the picnic basket. As soon as she left, Hayner and a reluctant Pence jumped Roxas on what that whole moment was about, but between all of Roxas's stuttering, not much was said before Olette soon came out, saving him from having to say anything.

"All right! Let's get going, guys!" Olette exclaimed, and the quartet left her house and headed uphill towards the train station.

"Hey, are you guys excited for the end-of-summer festival tomorrow?" Pence asked as the group as they walked away from the ticket booth after paying, boarding the train. Although Twilight Town seemed to have some sort of fair every week, the festival for the next day was the biggest one of the summer.

Covering his ears as he sat down beside Roxas, Hayner tightly closed his eyes and shook his head. "Don't say 'end-of-summer', man! You're freaking me out!"

Olette giggled as she took her place beside Pence and across from the two blondes on the other side of the train, placing the basket on the empty seat beside her as Pence did the same with his bag. "Well, other than that, I'm really looking forward to it. It's the only other time from the Struggle tournament that Twilight Town seems to come alive…and it's getting better every year."

Laughing a bit himself, Roxas nodded, leaning forward so that he was resting his forearms on his legs. "Yeah, it'll be hard to imagine how they'll beat last year's festival. Make sure not to eat too much tonight or we'll have no room for the free food tomorrow."

The whole group laughed a bit mischievously at the thought of free food, and before they knew it, they had reached Sunset Station. Exiting the train, the quartet walked through Sunset Terrance and up to Sunset Hill, where they were soon sitting upon a red and white squared blanket, feasting upon the packed goodies, sitting as such: Pence, Roxas, Olette, and Hayner. As they continued talking about the festival, and in particular the different competitions held between the various Twilight Town groups and the misdeeds and misadventures of one called the Klepto Club, Pence turned towards Hayner, recalling a former group that was never discussed.

"Hey, Hayner…what _did_ ever happen between you and Seifer?"

Hayner immediately tensed, and Roxas and Olette looked over at Pence worriedly—they were afraid that Hayner might just snap and freak out on the big-boned boy, and it might just be one that they wouldn't be able to stop Hayner from doing. However, Pence just swallowed and trudged onwards, wanting to show the kind of bravery he admired from Hayner and Roxas…a quality he didn't believe he had. Therefore, he went on…both to gain that missing quality, and to learn the truth.

"I mean…there was a time you and Seifer were closer than you were with us. Then one day you just stopped hanging out with him and spent more time with us. I know it may not be any of our business, but we'd just like to know, you know…? We'd like to know what's bothering you so we can help."

As a moment of silence fell upon them, a strong, chilly wind suddenly blew, the only sound that interrupted the still of nothingness. Eventually Hayner moved, bringing his knee towards his chest and wrapping an arm around it, his hand forming into a fist. "…Seifer…betrayed me," he slowly replied, glaring down at the dirt ground before him. Three pairs of eyes widened at the fact that the camo-clothed boy answered, and a hush came over them as they waited for their friend to continue, thoroughly interested in the story.

"Back then, we were the two biggest troublemakers in town. There was this one incident, down in the Underground Concourse…it was probably the worst thing we ever did…something that would have landed someone a pretty good reward if they turned the people in. Of course, no kid in their right mind would want anything to do with adult matters like that…if they were the ones being busted. But being on the inside…_that_ power would have been incredible for us small fry. For that power, Seifer traded me. He said I was the one who did it, excluding himself from everything. I got in trouble, and he was allowed to start up that Disciplinary Committee of his, able to do what he wants, when he wants. To this day I'm still labeled as the town's top troublemaker…and him some hero."

"Hayner…" Olette said solemnly, her emerald eyes full of empathy. Pence looked about ready to kick himself for asking such a stupid question, and Roxas now had a new reason to add to his growing list for reasons to hate the beanie-wearing boy. His hand made a fist as well, and as Hayner noticed the action, he let out a small laugh and waved his hand out in front of his face.

"Ah, but that's my problem. You guys shouldn't dislike Seifer for my reasons…by now I'm sure we've all got something personal against him, right?"

Pence and Olette laughed slightly, more in wanting to lighten the mood as Hayner wanted than in agreement to his statement, but Roxas remained serious and silent, his mind now dwelling on a matter that had plagued him earlier.

"…Now that we're all talking about friendships and stuff…do you guys remember how ours started?" Roxas looked down at his loosening fist as he spoke, closing his eyes briefly as he laid down, looking up at the twilight-lit clouds floating in the sky.

Taken aback by his out-of-the-blue question, the three now stared at him wide-eyed. "Dude, I'm hurt. Here I was thinking I was so lucky to have friends like you, and you don't even remember the memorable day we met," Hayner said, sounding more serious than he wanted even though he tried to pass it off as a joke.

Roxas shook his head, wanting to push away the growing pain that was encompassing him. What was he thinking, asking such a thing after Hayner went and told them a difficult story? _But still, I can't forget it…_ "No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just…I had the strangest dream this morning."

"Another one?" Olette asked, looking down at him worriedly as she remembered the other dream he had told them about a few days ago, with the tidal wave and the other people cutting into his dream. Roxas paused for a moment, realizing he hadn't told them of his other dreams involving the Sora person and his companions, before nodding, figuring he shouldn't worry them more than he already had.

"Yeah…it was like my memory of when we all met…but it was distorted. There was like two of everyone, a kid us and a teenage us…and for some reason, I can't tell between which is real and which was part of the dream."

A warm hand soon wrapped around his, and Roxas looked at Olette as she smiled briefly before lying down beside him, looking up at the sky as he previously was. "Memories…even important ones…don't come back to us when we want them to. But…that doesn't mean the memories are gone…or forgotten," she said as she looked up. "They're deep in our hearts…out of reach, but protected…safe and waiting for the right key to set them free. At least…that's what I think." She squeezed Roxas's hand, turning her head towards him. Another moment passed between them as they stared at each other, broken once again as Pence held onto Roxas's other hand, lying back as well.

"Even if we do forget sometimes…the important thing is that we don't forget each other, right? It doesn't matter how we met, as long as we did. If we stick together, we can make new memories," Pence said, grinning when Roxas had turned his head towards him.

"That fear and insecurity that you're feeling…they're signs of a strong heart, Roxas," Hayner added, lying down and taking Olette's hand, completing the chain; one that linked them together, their hearts, their memories, and one that would cross time and distance. "Besides, even if you forget, we'll remember for you. We got your back, blondie, so stop worrying."

No words could have described how Roxas felt at that moment, and he, along with his other friends, closed their eyes peacefully, never letting go of each other as they seemed to slip into a light sleep beneath the beautiful twilight sky. No one seemed to notice that the blonde boy's question went unanswered, making is suspicious if anyone truly remembered how the four of them met, but it mattered not.

…_As long as we're together, just the four of us…nothing else will matter._

xoxoxoxox

In the Tram Common, a pale hand lifted to adjust the beanie that sat upon the person's head, sapphire eyes glancing at the blonde girl who accompanied him as they stood in front of a closed off area in the busy shopping district. Glancing around to ensure that no one was looking where they weren't supposed to, the boy walked up the girl, wondering why she was studying one of the many doorways into the Underground Concourse.

"There _is_ a reason you called me out here, right, Luna?" Seifer asked, crossing his arms as he moved his gaze to the door, several memories about the Concourse rushing to his mind.

"Of course there is. This is it," the girl said, placing her hands upon her hips and gesturing over to the Concourse.

"This is what?" he questioned once more, feeling thoroughly lost as to what the girl was getting at.

Letting out a sigh, wondering how the male race survived while being so dimwitted, Luna walked towards the metal door, knocking it with her index knuckle. "My big plan. My uncle's part of the crew who maintains the Concourse and opens and closes it every year. Bring Olette here tomorrow during the festival, and the rest is cakewalk. Understand?"

Seifer raised an eyebrow, his mind eventually following her idea. "The Town will be so busy, no one will notice if we enter the Concourse." The blonde seemed pleased with the plan, but his expression soon dropped, realizing another crucial detail. "And Roxas? She's sure to go to the festival with him and the other two twerps."

Luna merely laughed, crossing her arms and smirked, giving the Committee leader a taste of the look he'd often give others. "Like you said, the Town will be crowded beyond belief. It won't be hard to think of a diversion to separate them. And once that's done, Roxas will have his hands full with me. You just do the same with Olette."

Matching her look with one of his own, Seifer gazed up at the Tram Common entrance to the Underground Concourse. "A whole day alone with Olette in our own private underground playground…it just may be the best festival I've ever attended."

The two laughed, shaking hands before they went their separate ways.

_Restoration at 8%._

Eight more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes: **Hum, should I start replying to reviews like normal people do instead of putting it in my fanfic? xD Maybe it's making it more of a read than the chapter really is

-cough- Anywhoo, KHII Opening FMV, anyone? xD I had to do that scene for the TT Gang, and it'll help out for one of my ending chapters way in the future Roxas's dream/memory…confusion, anyone? It was so hard to write that part and still try to make it make some sort of sense. Hope everyone was able to follow it. The real memory will make a debut in a later chapter of the story.

Poor Riku. Nothing really never goes right for the kid. All will be well in the end…and in my sequel story, I promise xP And the picture shorting out briefly? An alarm to something! But silly Naminé didn't see it! The 1st Day in the game would have been ruined if she did, anyhow xP

Hayner and Seifer's relationship is sort of mentioned…! What they did exactly in the Underground Concourse I haven't revealed yet, but the reason behind their falling out was settled, at least. Does Seifer feel any remorse for ratting out his former best friend? –gaspu-

Twilight Town's end-of-summer festival coming up! It's bound to be…interesting. : )


	7. The Festival

** author' s notes: **After a few months, I have returned with the longest chapter I have ever written! Reaching almost 12,000 words without even including the author's notes, I hope it will make up for my long absence! So much for hoping to submit a chapter before a month xD It was a good thing I responded to reviews the message way, or this will be way~ to long!

The chapter is probably the closest I've been to reaching the 'Teen' level I marked the story as xD With the blood and…circumstance Roxas thought almost happened Hope you guys like it!

With no further ado, I present to you the seventh chapter!

* * *

**Chapter VII:** The Festival

Black boots trekked upon the cold surface of the flooring that covered the basement of the Old Mansion, the tail of the long, black hooded trench coat lightly flowing behind the figure as it moved. He seemed to walk with a purpose, but no real meaning, only moving forward because he had been ordered to, not so much because it was out of his free will or that he did it without being told to do so.

As white sandals approached from the opposite side of the hall, the man stopped a few feet from the closed metal door that stood between them, the girl also doing so soon after as her cerulean eyes fell upon him, standing on the other side of the door. An awkward stillness settled around them, neither moving a muscle nor saying a word for quite some time. Yesterday for them hadn't really finished yet, the situation left hanging in the air until then, with the abrupt departure of bleach-blonde haired girl.

_Even now, I still can't…_ Riku bowed his head slightly, his fingers twitching, wanting to form a tight fist so that at least some kind of emotion could be emitted. Naminé's eyes saddened as she saw that the boy before her was unable to reply to her, even when given the time to do so now, unlike the day before when she left before he could even blink.

_Maybe he really does want me to…_

"Naminé…"

Her thoughts were interrupted as the platinum haired boy finally spoke, and she looked up expectantly at him, dreading the words that she had played over and over in her mind from the moment that she last saw him. Her name, though, as all that could be uttered before they were disrupted, this time by the automatic opening of the metal door that was between them. On the other side of the doorway stood DiZ, looking serious and angry as usual, the glare from the numerous computer screens behind him giving his face even more shadows and casting a dangerous look.

"You two are late," he said sternly, turning to his side and glancing back at them. "Come in quickly."

DiZ fully rotated around, returning to his seat in front of the computer and leaving the two kids to stare after him. Riku was the first to look away, swallowing as Naminé noticed his movement and turned her head back towards him. When he continued to remain silent, Naminé took a step towards the open door but was cut off as Riku stepped in front of her.

"…You're right," he whispered when he paused in front of her before walking the rest of the way into the room.

Freezing, Naminé's eyes widened as her words from yesterday echoed within the confines of her mind. _'You'd rather remember me, and the good times that we had, along with the bad ones, and suffer through the pain, then to never remember me at all, right, Riku?'_

Smiling, she clutched a hand to where her heart should've been, relieved that he answered her, and that it was just the reply she wanted to hear. _Sometimes, it really is nice to be wrong instead of being right all the time._ Closing her eyes to keep from any tears of happiness from streaming down, she opened them once more and walked through the door, which closed behind her as she took her place at DiZ's other side. The man wrapped in red bandages wasted no time in getting to the heart of the matter behind why he had called the both of them there.

"Either Naminé is losing her touch, or that boy is retaining more of Sora's powers than I first thought."

As Riku closed his eyes and swallowed hard, wondering what the brat did now to endanger his friend's progress, Naminé narrowed her eyes slightly, angered that DiZ had the gull to blame things on a boy who never asked for any of this to happen in the first place. "It's not that I lacked in any way in my abilities," she began, though she had no intention in turning it into a full-out rant about how she was the best at what she did for she was the only one who could do what she did, and therefore not to blame.

"And it's not that _he_ has Sora's strong heart…" Naminé continued, closing her eyes as she neared the point in her little explanation. "It is because he is his own person, with his own memories. He is merely regaining the memories I locked away, as Sora is. Nothing more, and nothing less."

DiZ bowed his head down and smirked, cocking his head off to one side. "However, it is not _his_ memories that I want restored—it is Sora's. It is rather useless for _him_ to have his back, is it not? Well, I guess it's no matter. If they're one in the same, _his_ progress is Sora's progress. I'll keep a closer eye on this new development in case it hinges on our business. That is all."

Naminé's body began to shake as the anger that she kept bottled inside her threatened to spill out due to DiZ's ignorant words. Did he not just hear her say they were separate entities, or did he choose to ignore that to make himself feel better? Roxas was not Sora in his entirety, and neither was he his clone. He wasn't born on Destiny Islands, he wasn't close friends with Riku or Kairi, nor was memories of the brunette boy his personal ones. Roxas was Roxas, born _from_ Sora in Twilight Town, best friends with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and had his own private memories that he created himself. He was more of a twin brother than anything. Why was she the only one who could see that?

_Because…I'm just like him. Of course I'd be the only one who would understand that. It doesn't help that he's only using Roxas for his own goals, either._

Turning on the heel of her sandal, Naminé swiftly left the computer room without another word, heading to one of the only places that she felt at home in the abandoned mansion. Riku watched her leave yet did not move from his spot, still unsure about what happened and thus not doing anything until he was ordered to.

"At least she left in silence this time," DiZ said with amusement dripping in his words, soon chuckling at his own little joke despite the silence that continued to issue forth from Riku. Calming down, the older man looked at the boy-in-a-man's-body from the corner of his eye before moving his gaze to the multitude of computer screens. "The boy…he's regaining his own memories. I believed this would hinder Sora's own process, but his restoration is continuing. I guess they're both helping each other out, though it's useless for a Nobody to have such memories. As long as it helps Sora, it doesn't matter."

Riku lowered his head, amber eyes hardening. Now he understood why Naminé was so upset that she couldn't even talk. Although he didn't care much for Roxas, he and Naminé were both Nobodies, and so shared the same faith. To say it's useless for her to have her memories… Making a fist, he raised his head up to look at DiZ. "You know I can't help you with a personal vendetta, right? I didn't agree to do all this for that reason…and neither did Naminé." _And I bet Sora would feel the same, too._

DiZ paused briefly before letting out another small laugh. That was the first thing the boy had said to him when he had told him the details and asked him to join them. Well, he figured as much. He knew that what he wanted to do, he had to do alone…he just needed the keyblader to help a bit was all. "Heh…I know that all too well. You won't stop reminding me."

Smirking beneath his hood, Riku walked out of the computer room and upstairs to the White Room. Sure enough, he found Naminé there, standing by the curtained window. As he approached, he opened his mouth to say something, but instantly stopped as he noticed the group of people gathered outside the main gate of the mansion. Riku immediately moved to go down there and dispose of them, but he was halted by Naminé's hand upon his upper arm.

"It's all right. They cannot see us, and even if they did, it would be made to be a figment of their imagination."

Looking down at her, Riku relaxed, though only slightly. Crossing his arms, he continued to observe the group outside. "Why…?"

"There's an annual festival in town today. I'm guessing they're using this 'haunted mansion' as an attraction," Naminé answered, knowing what he wanted to ask before he even had to ask it. She was rather excited about the festival—it'd be the first time… _that I might catch a glimpse of him in his true element…_

Her response didn't seem to make Riku feel any better, though. Even if Naminé had said that they couldn't be seen, he'd have to stay there all day and watch in case something did happen. He, too, thought about whether he'd be able to see the boy living life blissfully since he brought him there, though he wasn't at all as happy as Naminé was about the chance.

Today was going to be a long day.

xoxoxoxox

Background voices mingled together to create the usual murmur found in most public areas, such as the restaurant that he was currently sitting in. Sapphire eyes glanced around the place both anxiously and curiously before settling on the blonde girl who sat before him as she began to speak.

"_This diner is pretty amazing, huh? I can't thank you enough for what you did for me back there, Roxas. Treating you out doesn't seem like enough."_

Roxas shook his head, feeling rather embarrassed. What he did was nothing special—the girl had gotten herself cornered in a dead-end alley with a couple of stray dogs ready to attack. All he did was chase the dogs away. Besides, he was running late meeting up with his friends—one of which he had caught a glimpse of in the alleyway…and had completely ignored when she called him.

_Olette…_

Olette, along with Hayner and Pence, must've gone searching for him when he didn't show up at the Usual Spot. But she was the last person he wanted to see him like that…with a girl clinging to him and pulling him off towards the center of town. Maybe he couldn't exactly leave the girl alone, but blowing off his own friend for a stranger didn't seem right, either. All he could do was hope that Olette didn't see him, or had mistaken him for someone else. He didn't want her to get the wrong impression about his relationship with the blonde girl. It wasn't as if he was enjoying himself, either. He always figured his first 'date' would have been with Olette…

"_Err…Luna, was it? Really, this isn't necessary. I'm running late and…"_ He trailed off as he felt two pairs of eyes locked onto him. Scanning around the restaurant once more, Roxas froze as his eyes fell upon the familiar hairstyles of Hayner and Pence, who were outside peeking in at him through the large main window of the food establishment. Time had flowed quicker than he thought, and now he had been caught by Hayner and Pence. It felt like he had disappointed everyone, giving off the impression that he had ditched his friends to go on a date with a girl he had just met in the alley.

_But that…isn't it at all…_

Quickly turning his head away from the window and back towards Luna, Roxas struggled up to his feet while apologizing to her. In his haste, though, he had bumped into the waiter, and a big mess now covered the table and the floor surrounding them. _"I am…so sorry,"_ Roxas said, trying to calm down the waiter and clean the mess at the same time. Things were going from bad to worse. _"I'll pay for this…somehow…"_ He said that, though it was easier said than done. He didn't even have a job.

"_Roxas!"_

Amidst all the confusion and chaos, Pence had come in without him noticing, waving a hand in the air and jogging over. _"I got your back."_ Nearing him, he weaved his way past the two that were with his friend, eyeing the server and Luna as if they were both the enemy ready to pounce on their prey. They gave him very confused yet edged looks, though the sweatband-wearing boy didn't catch it as he turned his head to glance back at Roxas to add something more. _"Missed you today, bro,"_ he said with a small wink and a smile before looking back at the two unknown people, ready for whatever harsh comments might come his way for his sudden appearance.

Though it took Roxas a moment to realize yet another misunderstanding had occurred, and he waved his hands out in front of him as if wanting to keep it from coming any closer and making things worse. _"Pence, no! We're not fighting. I just bumped into the waiter here and…"_

"…_I'm waiting for someone to pay for all this,"_ the waiter interjected, becoming increasingly impatient with all the interruptions.

"_I…"_ Roxas started, turning his head away from Pence and towards the older boy.

"_I'll work on his behalf."_

All three boys seemed to gasp and look towards Luna, who merely smiled happily at the attention. _"I was looking for a job, anyway. It's all right, isn't it, as long as everything's paid back?"_

"_O-of course,"_ the waiter managed to say, still shocked that she was willing to do that for the blonde-haired boy as if she had agreed to take his death sentence for him. It was, at most, a whole day's work to pay back for the food and broken plates and glass, but to kids, it really did seem like a death sentence.

And saying that, Roxas wasn't about to let Luna do that for him. _"Luna…are you sure? If this is to pay me back, this is too much."_

Luna giggled and shook her head, lightly placing a slender hand on his shoulder. _"I'm positive. You should let a girl do something for you if she wants to—you'll hurt her feelings otherwise."_

Roxas, of course, didn't understand, but before he could argue about the issue more, all four of their attentions were drawn to the large window of the diner and the argument taking place outside between Hayner and…

"_Seifer?"_ Roxas said in bewilderment, quickly turning his head towards Pence and forgetting what he had wanted to say to Luna before, a very concerned yet determined look forming on his face. _"What's Seifer doing here? Is he looking for trouble again?"_ he interrogated, but before giving Pence a chance to even answer, Roxas steered his way from the group and headed towards the door. Pushing the doors open with almost too much force, his eyes narrowed as he came out only to see Rai about to rip Hayner to shreds. His hands rose and thrust forwards, pushing a surprised and off-guard Rai off to the side. Stepping in front of Hayner, his body turned towards Seifer—boy, did he hate it when Seifer picked on Hayner or any of his friends.

"_What, so you thought you could mess with Hayner simply because I wasn't around? You had the nerve to try and lay a finger on my best friend?"_

"_R-roxas!"_ Hayner exclaimed, standing up from the fighting stance he was in to stare at Roxas's back in utter surprise and awe. He turned back to the diner when the doors were open again, though more softly than when Roxas plowed through them, and Pence walked out and came up to stand by his side. _"Pence!"_ Grinning widely now, he looked back at Seifer and his gang, feeling stronger now that his friends were by his side. _"Now all we need to do is find Olette,"_ Hayner said, though to no one in particular—he was just happy.

Nodding over to Pence, the two of them walked up to stand on either side of Roxas so that he wasn't going to take all the heat by himself, especially if Rai got angry and went after him for the push. _"Good to see you back, man,"_ Hayner said to Roxas with a small smile on his face before he looked back at Seifer and the others.

Rai showed off the usual dumb smirk, borderline of malevolent and benevolent. He dusted himself off as Fuu came to stand beside him with her trademark poker face, holding herself up with such grace and nobility. Vivi was by her side, his face shrouded by the shadows of the oversized accessory on his head save for his glowing yellow eyes, and the little boy adjusted his hat as the trio remained silent as Seifer spoke.

"_Best friend or not, last I heard Hayner was the _leader _of your so-called gang. The leader should be able to take care of himself, as far as I know,"_Seifer said casually with a wave of a hand. A small smile tugged at the ends of his lips, but he held back—the fight was far from over.

Clutching his hands into tight fists at Seifer's words, Hayner smirked before shrugging the comment off like it was nothing. He had a feeling that it was coming when he was staring at Roxas's back, but he didn't feel inferior in any way. _"Hey, nothing's wrong with a little backing up. 'Specially when your lunatic bodyguard looks like he could lift a car up with one hand. And last I heard, leader's had better control of their subordinates, too, Seifer. Maybe you ought to re-think who's really the leader of your sorry little group of misfits,"_ Hayner countered, nodding over at Rai.

So, their entire group was there. Did they have nothing to do with Olette's disappearance after all, or was this all the big cover up? Hayner mulled the thoughts over in his mind, multi-tasking as he spoke to Seifer and his gang. Either way, something fishy was going on. Eyeing them all as the two groups looked at each other, Hayner stepped forward slightly as if to regain command, but leaned back so he could address his two friends. _"I don't know what's going on, but we've got to find Olette. Something's wrong, I just know it."_ Hayner spoke in a low whisper; low enough for Seifer and his group to not understand unless they had the ability to read lips, but loud enough for Roxas and Pence to hear.

"_We need to split up, got it?"_ Although the camo-wearing boy still wasn't up for a four-on-two battle, he had bigger priorities than focusing on that. Hayner turned his head to look at both Roxas and Pence; he didn't want to give them an order about who went where, hoping they would take the initiative themselves. He was in no mood to handle indecisiveness for they simply didn't have the time for it. Without waiting for either of their answers, Hayner turned back and took another step forward, rolling up non-existent sleeves in a gesture to show that he was ready to fight. _"Let's get on with this, eh?"_

Roxas seemed to have lost all function from the first time he heard Hayner say that they had to find Olette. _Olette's…missing?_ The images of the last time he had seen her in the alleyway as he walked away played over in his mind like a broken record. Something must've happened between the time he left her until now. Regaining some sense of himself, Roxas glanced over to Hayner before following his gaze back to Seifer and his gang. Did Hayner think that Seifer might have had something to do with it? Staring him down, he began to speak, walking forwards towards Seifer as he did so.

"_So, you decide to make fun of Hayner because I have his back, yet Rai's here to do the exact same thing. You should listen to yourself speak, Seifer, you really do sound like an idiot from time to time, if not…often."_ He had to get Seifer so worked up that he'd slip up and tell them what they needed to know about Olette—he couldn't savor the moment for his own personal satisfaction, not until he found her.

As Roxas spoke, both Hayner and Pence snapped their heads up to the sky, where their eyes met with…nothing, it seemed. It was like whatever they were looking at was erased from the dream, save for the item that was floating around by itself without the body of the thing to go with it. Whether it was some sort of weapon or not was hard to tell from the altitude.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment before it sped up. Hayner rushed forward, making his way towards Roxas, who was too caught up with Seifer to notice that something was free-falling towards him, something that was attracted towards Roxas for reasons only it seemed to know. Taking one last step, Hayner pushed off his right foot to jump at his best friend, holding out his hands to push him out of the way. He made it just in time, too, as he could feel one of the sharpened claws of the 'erased' creature slash him across his back—if he was a second late, it would have made contact with Roxas for sure.

Crashing to the cobblestone ground, Hayner rolled a bit before he eventually came to a stop, now a few feet away from where Roxas had ended up after he had pushed him. Groaning, Hayner tried to sit himself up, though he quickly ceased movement as the sting of having air touch the gash on his back a bit more painful than he expected it to be.

"_Hayner!"_ Pence yelled as he began to see a tint of crimson colour the wound on Hayner's back. There was no way that thing was on Seifer's side…was there? It didn't seem to be the case, as Seifer and his gang looked as spooked about the sudden appearance of the thing as they were.

Making a slight movement towards his friend, Pence froze as he stared back at a seemingly empty space, stuck to his spot as if something had glanced at him and disabled him to move. Knowing there was no way he was just going to stand by, though, Pence began to try and circle around the space, still very much being watched despite his efforts. Even if it had been erased from the dream, it was all very much real for the people still in it.

"_Hayner! Roxas! Are you guys okay?"_ Pence asked before his mouth dropped, his eyes finally falling upon the item now looked to be floating in midair.

Roxas flinched as he pushed himself up on his knees, rubbing the back of his head where it had been hit when he fell forward from Hayner's push and tumbled about. He glanced over at his fellow blonde friend, wondering why he had pushed him all of a sudden, but any questioning words escaped him as sapphire orbs landed upon the fairly long and bleeding slash that covered almost the entirety of Hayner's back. His eyes widened and stayed locked on his friend as Roxas slowly turned his head to ask Pence instead about what had happened. _"Pe…Pence…?"_ Roxas shakily called out, honestly too afraid to think of what had caused Hayner to bleed as he was.

When he had heard no answer, Roxas pulled his gaze away from Hayner and onto Pence, who looked as if he had been turned to stone. Wondering what more could have gone wrong, he followed his friend's gaze and soon found himself in a petrified state as well.

The twilight rays hit the turquoise beaded bracelet just right, causing it to glow rather beautifully as it was held there in midair before the lot of them. Before they realized it, the bracelet dropped, making a clanging sound as it met with the stone ground below. The noise seemed to echo repeatedly in his ears as he lowered his head, ringing with the terrible thought of knowing what had happened to Olette.

"_Roxas__!"_ Pence yelled out desperately, holding a hand out towards him despite being way too far away to be able to reach him.

By then, Roxas was already aware that something was advancing towards him. But it didn't matter to him—he was more than ready for it. _This is what hurt Hayner…what took Olette…_ The beating of his heart now pounded within the confines of his mind. Lifting his head up, the look on his face was beyond description—it was a fusion of melancholy and vengeance, among many other emotions.

He let out a battle cry and then everything flashed white.

xoxoxoxox

Sapphire eyes snapped open and Roxas screamed, closing his eyes as he clung to his head. That had been the most horrifying dream he had had yet. His eyes remained wide as his entire body shook uncontrollably. _What…was that?_ The dream had started normal enough—it was the first time he had met Luna, he could remember that clearly for some reason, unlike his memory from yesterday. She never did stop working at the diner, even after paying back the damage he had done.

But there was no way that…the rest of the dream was…

…_Real…_

That would have meant that selected parts of his memory was gone, like yesterday, and that Hayner and Olette and Pence had been…_That they were in danger…_ Roxas closed his eyes tightly, though soon it wasn't so much out of trying to block out the thoughts than to keep at bay the angry hunger noises his stomach was emitting. _Right…I didn't eat too much last night because I wanted to save room for today._

Today—the festival was today. Slowly opening his eyes, the blonde sat up, clutching his stomach now. The dream was probably just a nightmare caused by an empty stomach. That was definitely a more plausible reason than the complicated conclusion he had come up with previously. Though he tried to tell himself that, Roxas still felt uneasy about the dream. _Maybe I should start distancing myself from Olette…from the others. Then there's no way that dream could ever become real…_

While he might have thought that that was a good way to combat the dream from becoming reality, it'd be hard on them all to accomplish it, especially when they spent so much time together—like they were going to today. Flinching as his stomach cried out again, Roxas got to his feet and went to get ready.

It was even tougher now that his stomach craved the food from the festival in which he was to attend with his friends. Oh, how his stomach betrayed him.

xoxoxoxox

Still clutching his stomach as he neared the Usual Spot, foregoing as much as breakfast as he could to leave room for the rest of the day, Roxas smiled slightly as he found that he was last once again, Hayner, Pence, and Olette waiting outside their hideout for him. His smile slowly faded, though, as his friends' happy faces were replaced with the horror from that morning in his dreams. Wincing at the mental pain, Roxas halted and brought his other hand to his forehead. Noticing that something was wrong, Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran over to him, soon surrounding their friend.

"Roxas, are you all right?" Olette asked, bending down slightly to look at him from below the shield his arm was giving. Glancing at her from the space between his body and his arm, Roxas's cerulean eyes widened before he shut them, shaking his head and taking an unsteady step back.

"Ah, I bet his head just hurts because he didn't eat anything, right?" Hayner said, nudging the fellow blonde. It seemed he connected the fact that Roxas was clutching both his stomach and his head.

"Jeez, did you really not eat _anything_ yesterday?" Pence said with a laugh.

Blinking in confusion, Roxas lowered his arm, looking at the three of them in disbelief. "You mean I'm the only one who went through with the plan?"

The three of them giggled now, and Hayner shook his head, placing a hand on his hip lazily. "Dude, it _was_ your idea. We didn't nearly follow it so strictly like you did. I'd die without my sea salt ice cream."

"But, I _am_ hungry. Let's get our chow on!" Pence exclaimed, raising a fist in the air before running off towards the Tram Common. Left behind to stare after the ebony-haired boy's back, Roxas, Hayner, and Olette looked at each other before laughing, soon following after their eager friend. A few pizza slices, french fries, popcorn bags, cotton candies, and several boxes of juice later, the quartet were at the other end of the Common now, finishing up their second sea salt flavored shake.

"I think I'm gonna barf when I get home…" Hayner muttered, albeit happily, as they slowed down to look at the crowd that was going in and out of the hole in the wall.

"What's going on over there?" Pence asked, and Olette walked over to the sidewalk sign that displayed the information.

"It's the horror event booth," she explained, continuing to read the bulletin. "'Make your way through the cursed, darkened woods. All those who survive the trip get to have their picture taken in front of the haunted Old Mansion.' Like proof that you completed the task."

"Sounds fun!" Pence said, looking at the others to see what they thought of it.

"Definitely seems to be scary," Roxas commented, hearing the screams that were coming from the woods.

"Well, if _they_ can do it, we surely can," Hayner said, motioning over to the Klepto Club as they talked out from the hole holding up their photo. "There's no way we can lose to them—I mean, it's _them_. That'd be as bad as losing to Seifer's group. Let's go!"

Knowing that there was no changing their leader's mind once he made his decision, the three of them giggled amongst themselves and followed Hayner into the Woods. They soon huddled close together, though, once they were several feet into the forest. It was darker in the Woods then any of them remembered—they could barely see their hands in front of them. Coupled with the echoing screams that surrounded them and the flashes of different colours that would light the way every so often, it certainly set the horror mood.

"I-I've never seen Twilight Town this dark before, r-right, guys?" Pence managed to stutter out, walking so close to Roxas that the heat between them was starting to make his arm hot.

"I wonder how they made the effect…" Roxas thought aloud, paying no attention to how close Pence was to him, but rather how close Olette was on his other side, who was clinging to his arm subconsciously.

"An effect is all it is, remember that," Hayner reminded them, still walking out in front. "There's never been any darkness in Twilight Town and there never will b—" His words were cut off as he stepped in something and found his foot beginning to be pulled deeper in like it was… "Quicksand…?"

The trio gasped at Hayner's word and they reached out for him. With three pairs of hands pulling at him, the blonde was soon freed, and the four of them fell backwards as there was no more resistance to balance out their momentum. Wincing from the pain, Roxas sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Is everyone all right?" Roxas gasped as the image of Hayner sitting up was briefly replaced with the bloody picture of him from his dream. Shaking his head, he looked up as the blonde boy got up on his feet.

"Yeah…jeez, what _was_that?" Hayner replied, irritated. If he was at all fazed by almost being dragged into the ground, he didn't show it.

"For effects, they're pretty realistic, huh?" Pence asked, standing and brushing himself off. After Roxas and Olette got to their feet, they continued deeper into the forest. Hayner let out an affirmative grunt to Pence's question, and they continued in silence without any more disturbances. Well…until Olette let out a scream and tightly clung to the closest being near her, who just happened to be Roxas.

The group halted and glanced back at the brunette, who was shaking as she buried her head into Roxas's back. In the distance, something white floated off, but despite the dark they were in it was hardly noticable. Olette didn't have time to be embarrassed about clutching Roxas the way she was for she was too scared to care at the moment.

"Olette…what's wrong?" Roxas asked worriedly, turning his head to look at her, as he didn't want to pry her away from him so abruptly in her state.

"S-something…brushed behind me…li…like…" she stuttered out, clinging to him even tighter.

"A ghost?" Pence finished, crossing his arms as he stood beside his best friend, who was as pale as a ghost herself. "I didn't realize you were afraid of them, 'lette. You never mentioned it before."

"I-I'm not, usually. But this place…and after what happened to Hayner…anything can get to you!" Olette defended, loosening her grip on Roxas to lift her head to look at Pence.

"I can see some light up ahead," Hayner interjected before Roxas or Pence could reply, his back towards them slightly as he looked off in the distance where the exit seemed to be. "Olette and I will rush over there—you two will meet us there." If Hayner was asking, he didn't leave the trio much of a choice as he quickly grabbed Olette's hand and began running towards the exit. In order not to be dragged along the ground in his wake, Olette ran with Hayner, looking back at Roxas and Pence apologetically for leaving they way they did.

Roxas stood in his place for some time, thoroughly confused about what had just happened. One minute, Olette was clinging to him, and the next she was running off into the distance with Hayner. For a split second, almost too quickly for Roxas to notice, the image of the silver-haired boy from his dreams, Riku, appeared in his mind, as did the picture of the red-headed girl. Snapping out of it, Roxas blinked and slowly turned his head towards Pence. "What just happened…?"

To his surprise, Pence had gotten over his shock more quickly than he had, and was already smiling at him. "It seemed like he wasn't listening to our conversation before, but…" He shrugged sheepishly, looking forward to where their friends disappeared to. "He really was. He got Olette out of this forest quickly so she wouldn't have to be afraid anymore."

Roxas stared at Pence for a moment longer as his words set in, he moved his head to look where his friend was looking. "Yeah…" _I'm relieved for Olette. Hayner sure solved the problem quickly. It's no wonder he's the leader._

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want Hayner to come back and rush me out of here by the hand, too. Let's go, Roxas."

Smiling, Roxas nodded, and the two followed after their friends. Sure enough, the light in the distance was the exit, and they stood once more under the twilight sky, on the other side of the forest.

"Oi, over here!" Hayner called, waving his hands in the air to catch their attention. Behind him, Olette was squatted over by a tree, her eyes closed. When Hayner started to yell, she looked up and smiled at the two boys her eyes fell upon. Standing as Roxas and Pence made their way over, Olette looked away embarrassingly as Roxas glanced at her.

"Are you…okay now?" Roxas asked sincerely, smiling warmly when Olette returned her emerald gaze back to him.

"Mm. Sorry about everything," Olette replied, her cheeks a light pink as she bowed slightly to the three of them.

"Ah, there's where they're taking the photos! C'mon, let's go!" Hayner pointed out, waving away Olette's unnecessary apology. Laughing as their leader was back to being normal, the three walked after him to the photos, making their way towards the gates of the Old Mansion, which was the backdrop for the picture.

"After that forest, this old house doesn't look so bad anymore," Pence joked as he plopped down on his left knee upon the grass.

"I think I'd rather spend a night in that house than go through that forest again," Olette said, standing beside Pence and placing her hands above her knees, bending down slightly so she wasn't blocking Hayner, who had come to stand almost behind her.

"Heh, I think we'll have to do that sometime, then," Hayner teased, though he was serious about it. It was an interesting idea, and it'd surely give them bragging rights.

The three held their positions, waiting for the picture to be taken, but they soon eased up as they noticed the photographer was looking elsewhere. Following his gaze, the three noticed it was Roxas he was staring at, who in turn was staring up at the mansion.

"Hey, it can't be a group photo without a group!" Hayner yelled over to him, crossing his arms to make himself look really annoyed.

Blinking, Roxas looked over towards his friends before gasping and running over towards them. "My bad," he apologized, taking his place beside Hayner.

"Did you see something?" Olette asked, curious. Although Roxas was usually a scatterbrain, he seemed more distracted than usual the past few days.

"No…I just…felt drawn to it for some reason," Roxas replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I wonder if there are ghosts in there…" Pence teased as the group got back in their positions, though not before Olette gave Pence a whack on his arm.

"Say 'sea salt ice cream'!" The photographer said, and the four of them repeated the saying before they smiled as the picture was taken.

"Man, this is so going to hang on our wall!" Hayner exclaimed as he held the photo in front of him, the four of them heading back towards the forest after their picture was taken. As they stepped back in, though, they were soon frozen in their place. "What…" Hayner breathed out, his arms slowly lowering the photo.

The forest was back to normal. The sky above was the same twilight colours it had always been, only slightly darkened by the towering foliage of the surrounding trees. There were no random flashes of light, and the screaming from the people walking around wasn't nearly as filled with genuine terror as theirs was.

"Did they…take away all the effects?" Roxas asked as the group resumed their walking towards the exit to town.

"No way that's possible…maybe the effects are only in effect when you're entering…maybe they disappear when you're heading back," Pence offered, though he realized his idea wasn't as plausible as it sounded.

"Whatever it is, it sure is strange…" Hayner piped in, stretching his arms above his head as they came out through the hole in the wall. "Well, whatever. It's done. What'cha guys wanna do now?"

"Hey, did you hear? Someone said that there was some barbeque over at the Sandlot!"

"Really? Let's go get some!"

Hayner and Pence watched the two kids run off before turning towards each other, big grins upon their faces. "Well, what're we waiting for? Barbeque! Barbeque!" Pence chanted as he and Hayner chased after the two kids. Giggling and shaking her head, Olette crossed her arms, watching the two boys run off.

"Honestly, they're like kids themselves," she joked before moving her head towards Roxas. "We better hurry after them before something happens, right, Roxas?" Opening her eyes, which had been closed since she laughed, Olette gazed upon Roxas when he didn't reply. "…Roxas?" Olette repeated, noticing that he indeed was lost in thought.

_I asked but…it really isn't possible to take away effects like that in an instant, is it? Weird things have been happening to me lately, and it's crossing over to my friends. I can't drag them into this. I…_

"…Roxas?"

Blinking as Olette's words finally reached him, Roxas slowly lifted his gaze to meet her emerald eyes, getting as lost in them as he just was in his thoughts. What kind of cruel irony was it that Olette had to be the first of his friends that he'd tell about wanting to 'get some space'? He wanted the exact opposite, especially with her. _This is for her…this is for her…_ Roxas tried to tell himself that. To protect her, he had to…

"Um, Olette, listen…" Roxas started shakily, lifting a hand to rub the back of his head as he turned it away slightly, his eyes off in the distance. "I've been thinking and…I think I should…y'know, start focusing on school and stuff. I know it's still vacation, but I should start the habit, right? So I'm gonna have to spend less time with you and the gang. I'm sure I can find a pro to teach you how to board if you still want to do that and…" He trailed off, wondering how completely stupid he was sounding right now and if he'd be able to make up any more excuses that seemed more real and believable.

As Roxas spoke, Olette's happy disposition slowly faded, replaced temporarily by a stunned look before settling into one of hidden pain. She lowered her head so that her bangs would cover her eyes, the one place where she couldn't conceal her emotion. Focus on schoolwork? That was a lame cover up, especially for him. Roxas knew that Olette studied harder than anyone else in their group, and she always pushed the rest of them, too. _How can he…say that…?_ Roxas must've realized her feelings for him…and he didn't feel the same way. In order to spare her, he thought up the best excuse he could think of to avoid her, having to drag the others into the equation as they were always together.

"…But uh, we can talk about the details later. This is the festival—we should just have fun! And we really should keep an eye out on those two. They'll clean out everything before the rest of Twilight Town has a chance to get there!" Laughing nervously, Roxas began walking, though soon stopped when he realized that Olette wasn't walking with him. As he turned around to look at her, a huge crowd of people ran in between the two of them, catching word of the big cookout and heading for it for a piece for themselves.

Clutching her hands lightly into fists, Olette laughed quietly at herself, not paying attention to the crowd that ran in front of her. _Roxas, you goof. Not saying you know at all makes it even more obvious than if you had really told me you didn't…feel…the same…_ Slowly raising her head, Olette noticed Roxas looking back at her and she smiled sadly, though she was trying her best to be happy. She didn't notice the shock or widening eyes of Roxas, and she didn't move from her spot to make her way over towards him, even though that task would have been impossible with the crowd in between them. _I guess…I'll just give him his space now. Seeing as…I'll need some myself…_

Was she crying? Roxas could tell that her eyes were more sparkling than usual. He made her cry? He soon gasped as his dream flashed before his eyes for a brief moment—that look…it was the same look he had seen on her face when he left her behind at the alley.

It was then Roxas realized that he couldn't protect his friends…

…If he was never with them.

"Olette…Olette!" Roxas yelled over the crowd, losing sight of her as he began being pushed away by them. By the time he managed to pull himself away and look back, Olette was no longer there. His heart stopped beating for a moment—where did she go? "Ole—" Roxas was cut off as someone bumped into him hard before clinging to his arm. Looking down, his mouth dropped as blonde hair came into view.

"You…"

xoxoxoxox

Bracing herself as she took a step back to try to get out of the way of the crowd, Olette gasped as she bumped into someone behind her. Turning around swiftly, she bowed slightly in physical apology. "I'm so sor—" Olette started on the oral apology, but soon cut her own words off as she stood straight again, realizing who she bumped into. "Seifer?" she asked in disbelief.

Smirking in response, Seifer glanced around casually. "Where's the rest of the lamers?" he asked before looking back down at her.

Olette dropped her gaze to the ground, more about of embarrassment of not wanting to show what had happened between her and Roxas than out of fear of him, before looking elsewhere. "Oh…they went to get some of the barbeque."

"Oh, your group went there, too? I couldn't handle that lineup, so I said I'd meet up with them later. Same with you?"

Offhandedly wondering why Seifer cared, much less took the time to have a conversation with her, Olette closed her eyes and shook her head. She had bigger problems without trying to add the understanding of Seifer's psyche to it. "I'm…actually gonna head home."

Seifer placed a hand on his hip and scoffed. "Home? At this hour? On festival day?" he spat out rhetorically, though he wasn't as turned off as he sounded. _Jeez, I can tell something's wrong. You might as well just spit it out._ "Look, if you've got time to kill, I've got a wicked place I can bring you."

Blinking in surprise, Olette looked back up at him, now completely lost by his actions. "You want to hang out with me? But…why?" she added, almost defensively. Was this a plan to mess with her friends by messing with her?

"Because it doesn't take a doofus to realize you're bummed about something. I told you those guys you hang out with are losers. They did something, right? Plus…I'm bored beyond belief. So, are you in or what?"

Olette wasn't sure what made her more speechless—the fact that Seifer could tell that something was wrong, or that he was willing to help cheer her up. Wasn't this the same guy that threatened to beat her to a pulp a few days ago? As much as she was interested in any form cheering up, even if it was from Seifer, this _was_ Seifer she was talking about—the rest of the gang would kill her if they knew. "I really shouldn't. If Hayner and—"

"Hey, if you won't tell, I won't. Even you need a break sometimes. C'mon, let's go!" Seifer walked behind her and placed his hands upon her shoulders, steering her forward. He was about to let go if she resisted, but to his surprise, she allowed herself to be taken wherever he was going. Smiling inwardly, he fished a hand in his pocket and pulled out a blindfold, tying it around her eyes.

'He-hey, this wasn't part of the plan!" Olette said worriedly, raising her hands to the side of her head in an attempt to un-blind herself.

"The place is a surprise! Don't worry, I won't let you crash into anything…too many times," Seifer added jokingly, laughing out loud as Olette hit him on the arms. "Okay, okay, not at all, okay?" he said in between laughs as they disappeared around the corner.

xoxoxoxox

"Oh, Roxas!" Luna exclaimed as he addressed her in a rather disbelieving way, standing up to look up at him though she still held onto his arm. "I'm so sorry! The crowd was just so strong; I bumped into you without even realizing it. Are you okay?"

"Uh…yeah…" Roxas answered distractedly, raising his head to look back at where Olette was just standing before. The bump wasn't what bothered him. "You didn't happen to see Ole—"

Holding tighter onto his arm, Luna spun him around and began pulling him towards the Sandlot. She had to get his mind off Olette—for her sake, and Seifer's. "Oh, good, I'm so glad! Hey, why don't we get some of those burgers?"

"But I…wait!" He tried to protest, but it took most of his concentration just to keep up with Luna that he couldn't form a proper sentence. Before long, they had reached the large crowded square area. Luna scanned the area once before her eye caught on something.

"Roxas, I'll grab us some drinks, 'kay?" Winking at him, she waved at him slightly as she ran off for the drinks, leaving an embarrassed Roxas in her wake. It was then that he noticed that Pence had caught sight of him. He couldn't very well leave now—he had been mean to enough of his friends for one day. Roxas watched as Pence elbowed Hayner before the two of them came over. He smiled slightly as Pence held out an extra shish kabob for him, thanking him before taking it and stealing a bite of the top meat upon the stick.

"And here, we didn't forget about you, Ole—" Hayner started, holding his extra kabob out like it was a bouquet of roses to the empty space beside Roxas, where he thought Olette was standing. That was, of course, before he opened his eyes and saw that Roxas was actually alone. Blinking, Hayner stood straight, staring at the space before looking over at Roxas.

"Hey, where'd Olette go, Rox? And here I was acting all gentlemanly for once."

Roxas lowered his head and closed his eyes at the question. He knew that the two of them wouldn't like his answer, but really, he was going to need their help to find her. They deserved to know after all, too. "I…don't know where Olette is."

"Don't…don't know?" Hayner stuttered, gaping at the fellow blonde before trying to laugh off the potentially dangerous situation. "Whadda mean you don't know? Dude, you were just with her a moment ago."

Roxas shook his head, unable to open his eyes and look Hayner in the eye. "We…I…there was this huge crowd that came between us, and when they were gone, so was she."

Pence raised an eyebrow, easily catching on that there was something Roxas wasn't telling them. Hayner didn't, though, but quickly moved onto the more important issue. "Okay, well, we should split up and look for her. Y'know, just in case. She probably just went home. I'll go check there, okay? We'll meet up at the Clock Tower in an hour." Before waiting for confirmation from the other two, Hayner took off, already knowing that they wouldn't deny the order as it was their friend they were talking about.

Watching him run off and disappear in the crowd, Pence closed his eyes before turning to face Roxas head on. "Hayner didn't notice it but…you're hiding something from us, aren't you, Roxas? What really happened?" Pence didn't ask in anger, but in a calm, kind voice, and that fact eased Roxas's anxiousness slightly. Letting out a deep breath, he looked away before slowly raising his eyes to meet with Pence's.

"I…told her I wanted to spend less time with you guys…I didn't realize it upset her. As I started to walk towards here, a crowd came between us. After they were gone…I couldn't find her anymore."

"Ah, I see," Pence merely said, nodding his head and crossing his arms. "You're as dense as ever, Roxas, if you didn't think telling her that wouldn't make her sad." He meant it as a joke, but Roxas took it to heart—probably the same way Olette had taken his words very personally. Pence didn't pry into the issue more as to why Roxas wanted to spend less time with them, instead shrugging and placing a hand on Roxas's shoulder. "But Hayner's right—she probably just went home. I'll go check uptown. You can check around here, 'kay?" Patting him on the shoulder, he waved before he ran off as well.

Smiling inwardly at how great it was to have Pence as a friend, Roxas took a stop forward, ready to start his search, when someone grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Turning around, he gasped as he saw Luna looking at him in a half-hurt, half-angry way. With everything going on with Olette, he had almost forgotten that he had come there with Luna.

"Where are you going, Roxas? Just when I got our drinks."

"Oh, Luna. I'm sorry. It's just, I met up with my friends, and we have this emergency thing to do." Seeing the look on her face intensify, Roxas froze before smiling awkwardly. "B-but you can come along, if you want. The more people, the better."

Cheering up slightly, Luna wrapped her arm around his. She figured the fact that he wanted her to hang out with his friends was a step in getting to be his girlfriend—like meeting the parents, only a step below. "Oh? Well, sure, I'd love to help if I can! What are we doing?"

Smiling down at her, Roxas began walking out of the square area. Though they had left the crowded barbeque area, the rest of the Town was still in festival mode, and there was heavy traffic everywhere. "My friend Olette kinda went missing on us, and we're all going to look for her."

Luna's arm immediately tensed at the mention of Olette—she had been trying to keep him from mentioning her. Forcing her muscles to relax so that Roxas wouldn't suspect anything, she laughed nervously, clutching tightly to the cans of soda in her hands. "O-oh, your friend, huh? You know, she probably just went home," she said, hoping the excuse would be enough to deter him from his search.

Roxas shook his head though, looking straight ahead with a look of pure determination in his sapphire orbs. "Yeah…we figured that as well, but it never hurts to look. Besides, I said something really bad to her, and I just have to apologize…"

Luna looked up at Roxas slightly, feeling the slight pang of guilt hit her. Should she tell him the truth, though it would probably make him hate her for the rest of their lives?

_Roxas…_

xoxoxoxox

"All right, here we are!"

Raising her eyebrow, Olette looked around their surroundings, though the blindfold was still covering her eyes. It didn't feel like they walked a terribly long time, but it was definitely far away from the main area of the festival, as it was quiet, like they were in a deserted place. Apart from that, the only thing that sparked her interest was the sound made before Seifer helped her into…wherever they were. It sounded like some kind of metal door opening.

"Here, let me help you with that…" Seifer said, reaching out to untie the blindfold. With the obstruction gone, it took a few moments for Olette's emerald orbs to get used to the darkness that almost completely enveloped them before her eyes widened.

"This is…"

"Yeah, the Concourse! Cool, huh?" Seifer exclaimed, holding his arms out excitedly as he walked deeper into the underground tunnel.

Turning around briefly, Olette noticed that the only light peeking in was from the opening of the metal sliding door that was nearly pushed up to the top. _So that was what caused the sound I heard…_ Her eyes lingered at the doorway before she walked after Seifer. "How did you…? This place is supposed to be shut down until late next week."

"Let's just say I have connections," Seifer said with a smirk, lighting a match to light their way as they walked. "Don't you ever wonder how the place looks like before they open it up for the public?"

"Well, it sure is dark without the lights," Olette joked slightly, looking around at the shadowed walls at they went. With the thought of the Concourse on her mind, Olette wondered if she should mention something to Seifer, and after a brief moment, decided to. "I…heard about your and Hayner's falling out," she said delicately, glancing over at Seifer to read any reaction he might have had to her words. "Something happened here, didn't—"

Before she could finish her sentence, a loud crash sounded behind them. Glancing at each other, they raced back to the source of the sound. It didn't seem to get any brighter as they ran towards the exit, and to their horror, that was because…

"…The door…" Olette breathed out, staring at the metal wall that now covered the opening.

"It…closed…" Seifer said in equal disbelief before trying to find a latch to pull the door open with. "I can't find it! The door must be locked from the outside…"

"Are we trapped?" Olette asked, a bit frightened.

"N-nah," Seifer stammered an answer, trying and failing to sound confident. Clearing his throat, he continued. "We'll just go to one of the other doors and see if they work." Stuffing a hand into his pocket, he pulled out the pocketbook of matches that he kept in the pockets of his grey coat—what kind of Disciplinary Committee leader would he be if he wasn't slightly prepared for everything? "C'mon," he said after lighting another match.

They turned back around and headed in the direction they were going in before. After a while, though, another sound occurred, and Seifer let out a yelp as he crashed into another metal wall, losing the match and throwing them into complete darkness.

"Seifer! Are you okay?" Olette said worriedly, kneeling down and cautiously holding her arms out to find him on the floor.

"Ye-yeah…" Seifer moaned as he held onto one of Olette's hands that had found him. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Jeez, what's another door doing here in the middle of the hallway?"

"The drop's right behind that door, right?" Olette thought aloud, trying to remember the layout of the Concourse in her head. "I guess it's so that no one accidentally falls and seriously hurt themselves."

"Well, mission failed! I'm pretty sure my face is imprinted on the door now," Seifer muttered, rubbing his forehead before lighting another match.

"We really are trapped now, aren't we?" Olette asked, though it was more rhetorical than anything.

Several moments passed in silence before Seifer spoke out of no where. "It was that drop…" he trailed off, swallowing. It wasn't a topic he wanted to discuss, especially with Olette, but he wanted to get her mind off the fact that they were indeed stuck. Blinking in confusion, Olette sat down beside him before he continued. "The drop out there…in the middle of the Concourse…That was what Hayner and I did here," he said with a sigh, closing his eyes and hanging his head.

Emerald eyes widened as a gasp escaped from between the brunette girl's lips. "But that drop…it's huge! You're not saying you guys…"

"We did…we created that drop. It took months for them to fix it and make it look like a part of the rest of the Concourse…it turned out pretty nice, actually," Seifer added with a slightly bitter laugh.

Olette stayed silent, bending her knees and hugging them towards her chest. She wanted to ask him the one question that had been bothering her since Hayner told them the story yesterday—why did he turn Hayner in? She turned towards him shyly, but couldn't bring herself to ask him. It seemed a little too personal, and something like that should be said to Hayner first. The next moment, Seifer stood on his feet and brushed himself off with his free hand.

"I…didn't mean to turn him in. Things happened so fast…it happened before I knew it. I'm not making any excuses, though…I turned him in, and that's all there is to it." Leaving Olette no time to respond, Seifer moved over to the metal door they originally came through, trying to find a latch for it again before banging on it. The area they were in might have been empty, but that made it easier for anyone walking by to hear the noise than if it was in a crowded place.

Lingering for a while on Seifer's words, Olette smiled slightly—Seifer was a good person deep down, though he did have his major, more obvious, flaws. Before long, her thoughts focused on the noise Seifer was making, and Olette got up to help him out. He might have managed to keep her mind off many things, but she always knew the danger they faced. Being inside a small space with all sides tightly sealed shut…

They'd run out of oxygen soon.

xoxoxoxox

"No one's seen her yet on this side, how about you?"

Luna shook her head as she met up with Roxas in the middle of the Tram Common, having split up to cover more ground in the large area of Market Street. She knew they weren't going to find anything where they were, but they were getting closer to the emptier portion of the area, where the entrance to the Underground Concourse was held. She had to think of something, and fast. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a syllable, an elderly woman in the booth near where they stood spoke before her. It was just as well, since she didn't have a clue what to say.

"Ah, hello there, Roxas. Did you lose something, too?"

Smiling as he saw who was talking to him, Roxas made her way over towards her. "Oh, Granny, hi," Roxas said happily to the vendor of sea salt ice creams. He was surprised they hadn't gone there yet, but Hayner always did like to leave the best for last. "Not really…I just got separated from a friend. What did you lose?"

"Oh, that picture of us in front of my stand, do you remember?"

"Yeah, of course. I made that silly pose with the ice cream bar," Roxas said with a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, it's probably just misplaced. I hope you find it soon."

"Mm, and I hope you find your friend soon, as well. You and your friends must come back here before the end of the day for some ice cream, all right?" Granny said, smiling warmly at Luna as if she thought something was going on between the two of them. Luna seemed to catch on quickly, but Roxas only noticed something had happened when Luna's mood perked up. Grabbing Luna by the shoulders, Roxas began steering her away.

"See you later, Granny!" Roxas said with a wave before leading Luna away towards the more deserted part of the Tram Common. Once there, he let go the blonde girl's shoulders, slowing down to a complete stop to scan the area. "…I don't think we'll find her here. There's barely anyone around," he said sadly.

Luna had closed her eyes when they had reached the area, knowing for sure the jig would be up when he noticed the open door to the Concourse. To her surprise, though, Roxas didn't say anything similar to that, and her eyes flashed opened and looked towards the Concourse. It was closed, and the place didn't look any different from how it usually looked during the summer. _Is Seifer really in there? Why is the door closed, though? That thing automatically slides shut if nothing holds it open…_

While Luna was lost in her thoughts, Roxas was doing the same. _It's already been more than an hour…I'm late meeting them as usual._ His eyes moved down toward the ground and squinted as if trying to stop himself from doing the unthinkable for a male—cry. He was probably worrying over nothing. Hayner or Pence probably found her and he was standing there, stressing. Still, he had wanted to be the one to find Olette, so that he could be the first to apologize. In his gut, though, he knew something was wrong, and he…

His hands tightened into shaking fists. "…I can't let anything happen to Olette without her knowing how sorry I am…" Roxas choked aloud before he knew it. Luna's head whipped around towards him, her eyes wide when she noticed the pain that enveloped Roxas. She knew Roxas might forgive her someday if she told him now…but if she waited until something really did happen to Olette…

_He'd _never _forgive me._

"Roxas…" Luna started before she heard a sound that caused her to stop. As soon as she stopped talking, though, the sound had stopped as well. "Did you hear something?" she said instead when she felt Roxas look over towards her, her own gaze looking towards the entrance Concourse. _Don't tell me they're really…_

"No, I didn't hear a thing—" Roxas started, though was startled to a stop when Luna grabbed at his arm once again—he lost count how many times she did that in just one day. This time, though, was more urgent and serious than the other times she held onto him.

"We have to find my uncle and call the medics right away!" Luna yelled before running off, dragging a confused Roxas behind her.

xoxoxoxox

It was useless. They had been banging on the door for so long he was sure his hand was red—he couldn't tell anymore; he had run out of matches some time ago. There was just no one outside to hear the commotion. _And we wasted all this energy trying…_ Seifer banged the door again out of frustration before looking over where he had last seen Olette, who had stopped banging on the door a while ago and had slumped against it instead, as if clinging to it for dear life.

In a way, she really was.

"…Olette?" Seifer said uncertainly, able to hear the shallow breaths she was taking. They probably should have thought about their actions before they did it. But really, what were they to do? Sit there and do nothing, conserving the oxygen they had left though no one would find them? Or work tirelessly for the off chance someone would hear them, wasting their oxygen in double the time? Either way, it didn't seem to be getting them anywhere.

"Hey, Olette, you gotta keep talking to me." He almost pleaded—from the sounds of it, she had already slid against the door and reached the floor. "Sing me your favourite song or something."

Olette struggled to open her eyes but found that just trying to breathe in and out was taking almost all of her energy and concentration. She felt so dizzy and tired…if only she could sleep… "I…I don't…know…"

Seifer coughed as he resumed banging on the door, relieved that Olette was still conscious and able to speak, no matter how broken her words were—it seemed the lack of oxygen was beginning to get to him, too. "C'mon! Someone has to be loser enough to be out there right now! Get us out of here already!" Seifer yelled and banged against the door, though immediately stopped when he heard something hit the floor behind him.

Turning around, he dropped to his knees beside Olette. "Olette! Olette, say something!" Seifer shouted, placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking her slightly. With nothing but the slightest moan and the flop of her head answering him, Seifer's eyes widened before he closed them tightly, making a fist and punching the ground beside him. The exertion of energy caused his arm to give way, and he slumped over Olette on one side, his other arm shaking as it tried to hold the rest of his body up.

Being as close to Olette as he was now, Seifer noticed that he couldn't hear her breathing anymore. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly hovered his left ear over her mouth while his right hand clasped her wrist. Her heartbeat…it was slowing down, and with his ear barely two inches from her mouth, he still had trouble hearing her breath. Slowly, locked in shock, Seifer raised his head to look down at her. Olette…she couldn't die, not right there, right now, before his eyes. Sure, he wanted her to forget her problem and her loser friends…but not forever. _Not like this._

Maybe it was because he couldn't think too clearly anymore, or some hidden desire, but Seifer realized the only thing he could possibly do was to give every breath he had within him to Olette. He didn't pay too much attention in health class, but mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was something everyone knew something about. Seifer swallowed, his mind briefly wondering if this was going to be how both of their first kisses went, and if it would be their last, but he shook his head and the thought away. Anything was worth the possibility of saving Olette's life.

And with that, Seifer began lowering his head toward Olette.

xoxoxoxox

"They're _what_?" Roxas exclaimed as they ran their way back towards the Tram Common entrance of the Underground Concourse. Luna's uncle ran in front of them, and a medic squad trailed behind them. When Luna told him what was going on, Roxas felt like a train had hit him. Everything was a mess— one big, planned mess that had gone awry. Why in the world would Seifer want to spend time _alone_ with Olette? Hadn't he hurt her enough the pass few days? And why did Luna agree to do it? _What's going on?_

As Luna's uncle began unlocking and opening the metal door, Roxas' apparent answered seem to be given to him as the scene of Seifer leaning on top of an unconscious Olette, looking as if he was about to kiss her, was what met them when the door was pushed up. Time, and everyone, seemed to freeze for a long moment, everyone staring, trying to figure out what was going on.

Roxas was the first to come to his senses, his emotions fueling him, and he charged forwards, pushing Seifer away from Olette. "What the heck do you think you're doing? Get off of her!" Roxas screamed, making a fist and pulling it back to punch the disoriented Seifer. Luna had appeared behind him, though, and held his arm when he pulled it back. The medic crew had swiftly come in, murmuring a bunch of medical lingo as they placed Olette on a stretcher and put an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

"Sir, please come with us. We have to look after you, too," one of the medics said as they helped Seifer up to his feet.

"Ol…Olette…please look after her first," Seifer breathed out before an oxygen mask was placed on him and he was helped out of the Concourse and onto the Town's version of an ambulance.

"Yeah, please," Roxas agreed bitterly, glaring as Seifer passed him. With him out of his sight, Roxas pulled himself away from Luna, slowly staggering out and towards the Clock Tower—he had to tell the others what happened. As he turned the corner, though, he collapsed against the wall, sliding down until he sat upon the cobblestone ground. Roxas's shoulders shook as he cried, clinging to the wall beside him. How could this happen to Olette? It was all his fault…all his fault. Was this what happened to Olette in his dream?

"Leave her alone! Leave all my friends alone…" Roxas cried, holding onto the wall so tightly his hands began to pale. In the distance, the Clock Tower bell rang.

_Restoration at 10%._

Seven more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes: **Sooo, what did everyone think? –hopefulhopeful- Does anyone have bad feelings towards Roxas, Seifer, or Luna? xD –personally dislikes Luna- xDDv

Seifer, if anyone was wondering, does feel bad for turning Hayner in. He didn't exactly do it for the reward. If someone else found out and turned him in, Hayner, and him, would have been in extremely bad trouble. But since Seifer was the one, he was able to get authorities to be lenient on him with the position he received as the reward. That doesn't stop the fact that he turned Hayner in _alone_, and this was why Seifer wasn't making excuses for himself. He did what he did, and it was bad.

It's hard to distinguish the time frame here, but Seifer and Olette did spend a long time trapped in the Concourse. They were legitimately losing air, okay? xD Gosh, it was so hard putting Olette in pain. She's one of my top all-time favourite female characters.

Hum, what else to mention…in Roxas's dream, something was purposefully erased from his memory. I wasn't sure if I wrote it in such a way, but it still exists in his memory/dream, but the conscious Roxas couldn't see the being—big spoiler to what it is! As well, someone also tampered with TT's climate—there were no effects in that forest as high-tech like that. Also, anyone notice things are beginning to disappear? Uh-oh xD

Can you believe they're making a Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts II? And the manga for Kingdom Hearts II is most amazing. Extra scenes that I will definitely be trying to incorporate into my story! Look for that! I'm not even going to guess a time frame for the next chapter xD Just know that it, and I, are not dead ^^


	8. Your Heart

** author' s notes:** Aha! After several long months, I'm back with another chapter! Sorry it took so long. I think that Final Mix+ trailer released a few days ago got me back in the KH mood. I mean, have you see all those new Roxas scenes? I die every time I watch it. It's still pissing me off that Final Mix will have the English VAs and yet may not make it over to America even with the work half done! T_T I'll still be trying to work in all those manga and novel scenes into this fic. But I will celebrate when FM+ is released at the end of March ^-^

This chapter isn't as long as the previous one, but I hope it's still satisfying. Now that I'm up to the point where I'll be going into the six game days, the chapters should be easier to do, and hopefully mean updates that are more frequent.

I dedicate this chapter to **Toxo**, who flatters me about this being the best Roxette fic they've ever seen xDv

* * *

**Chapter VIII:** Your Heart

"So that was him, huh?"

Cerulean eyes glanced at the cloaked person beside her before slowly returning to look out the window. Naminé knew that Riku knew _of_ Roxas, and that he had a good idea of how he was like while he was in the Order, but what they had experienced yesterday was not the same boy he brought had back unconscious. "Yes. What you saw was Roxas with his closest friends…the real Roxas when he was not amongst the ranks of the XIII Order," Naminé explained, pausing for a few moments before continuing. "What did you think?"

Riku scoffed, crossing his arms to hide the fists he couldn't help but make. Roxas and his friends…they acted a lot like how he, Sora, and Kairi used to be. _Used to be…_ The thought made him _so_ angry. And what made him angrier was that he really had no one to blame but himself for the fact being past tense. Roxas never asked to be created…and Sora wouldn't have had to create him if Riku didn't wish to get off Destiny Islands and forced the both of them into a lot of dangerous situations. Riku tensed as another frequent wave of self-blame and self-hate started to come over him, closing his eyes tightly and baring his teeth, but opened his eyes in surprise when a hand gently clasped over his left forearm. Finding himself slowly relaxing, he looked back at Naminé's soft cerulean eyes, a questioning look in his hard amber ones.

"None of this is your fault, Riku," Naminé told him firmly yet gently, squeezing Riku's arm as she said it. Whether she was referring to putting Roxas in his current digital prison or to Riku's regret on all past events was unclear, but she didn't want Riku to shut himself away in another dark corner. When Riku didn't reply, Naminé tried to look beneath the hood to his eyes, but Riku turned his head away, soon pulling himself from Naminé's grasp. "Riku…!" Naminé called desperately, already feeling that she was rapidly loosing the sixteen-year-old.

"…I have work to do," was all the silver-haired boy said in response, and soon his figure decked in black exited the pure white room, no longer brashly standing out like a sore thumb. Pale blonde hair came down to envelop an even paler skin as Naminé lowered her head, blue orbs heavily etched with sorrow. _Riku…everyone could forgive you, but in the end, it won't matter if you don't forgive yourself…_ Sighing, Naminé lifted her head slightly to look out the window before standing up and walking over to the long table that had her sketchbook upon its smooth surface. Roxas had looked up at the mansion the other day. Was he already being able to sense their presence? That meant that time was almost up. Cerulean eyes closed as she picked up the sketchbook. She had work to do, too.

Outside of the door, Riku still stood, his back straight up against the surface. He really wanted to believe in Naminé's words, and he wasn't proud of the look on her face when he rejected her plea, but… He had no right to ask for things anymore, especially to ask for forgiveness. He wanted to leave the islands, and look where that got him. Wanting something as big as forgiveness…what price would he have to pay for that? Not only that, but somewhere deep down, Riku was afraid to be forgiven. What will fill the huge void in which the guilt was currently heavily occupying? What would he do afterward… Such leniency might make him repeat his mistakes again. _No! I'll never let that happen again. I will carry this burden until I make things right again and then some…even if I won't survive to see the end._ Closing his eyes, Riku gently pushed himself off the door and made his way to the staircase and the hidden floor two stories below.

He didn't deserve Naminé's kind and reassuring words…or even Naminé herself.

xoxoxoxox

_"I'd like you all to meet the thirteenth member of our Organization…our Key of Destiny."_

Five hooded figures decked in black coats eyed the smallest of the three hooded figures before them in the pure white, high-ceiling room. It was one of the few times the remaining members of the XIII Order gathered together like this, for it was all upon orders of the Superior—and they would never think of going against the Superior's wishes. That, and they were all equally curious to catch a glimpse of the prodigy the Furry of Dancing Flames managed to get within their grasp. A long silence proceeded the Superior's words as he went to stand behind their youngest member, and the tall eighth member that remained standing beside the newcomer looked down at the smaller hesitantly. The boy hadn't said a word or moved an inch since he was brought before the group just moments earlier. Eventually the silence was broken by one of the five, and soon a flurry of comments filled the once still air.

_"Ah, so this is the final member, huh? Makes you wonder if the Superior always planned this, calling us 'thirteen' before we even had that amount."_

_ "I don't think the shrimp can amount to much now that I see 'im. Is he even trustworthy? Didn't you pluck him out of his cozy little environment?"_

_ "Are _you_ even trustworthy, Gambler?"_

_ "But if he's _his_ other, everything should work out according to plan in the end, right? That's all that matters."_

_ "If we could've gotten this squirt from the beginning, why'd we bother with Castle Oblivion? Do you know how much members we lost with that gig?"_

_ "It's not like you had a part with anything on that mission, Lancer."_

_ "It's because the _original_ is always better than the copy."_

_ "But from what we've observed, it's not like _he_ could ever duel-wield a Keyblade."_

_ "Maybe this one's an upgraded version?"_

The final comment caused the murmurs to turn into fits of laughter. However, while their side was all smiles and laughs, the other side that held the remaining three members was dead silent. The Superior merely smirked beneath his hood, neither reprimanding them for their inconsiderate words nor laughing alongside them. How easy they forget that they themselves are no different from the boy they ridiculed. The eighth member was practically seething within the shadows provided by his hood. Well, if such an emotion was possible, considering what he was. That was the thing about their final member, though. He, for some reason, made the bold redhead feel like he could feel. Despite the short amount of time knowing him, if stalking someone could be considered spending quality time with one another, the man was already attached to the younger boy beside him.

Which was why the man couldn't stand the accusing subtle blame the other members were directing towards him. They were acting as if he had kidnapped the kid. It might have been true, technically, but if the boy deflected against him, the man didn't know what he would do. Being in the Organization would be bearable, worth it, if he had a friend like the blonde boy beside him. He'll make it up to the boy, somehow, and show him that his new place could become home, too. All of the redhead's distressing thoughts might have been in vain, though, for the youngest and shortest member amongst them wasn't particularly worried about the jab of being kidnapped. Although technically he didn't leave willingly, he went with them to protect his friends. That, and to learn more about himself, as the Superior had promised he would be able to do if he joined them. It bothered him to no end. Who was the person that he was supposed to be the 'other' of? Why was he able to wield that weapon, and furthermore, two of them at that? Why couldn't he remember anything about his life prior to meeting his friends?

A gloved hand curled into a fist beneath the long sleeve of the black trench coat he wore. He would find out the truth if it was the last thing he did.

**Fizzle. Crack. Fizzle.**

'_Are you sure it's all right for us to be here?'_

The figure that sat upon the ledge of the towering building looked up at the equally cloaked body that stood upon the very same ledge. For a few moments, neither of them said anything, the sounds of their tongues licking the salty yet sweet ice cream in their hands the only break in their silence. If any of the inhabitants of the town were to look up, they'd find it odd that people would be decked in pure black from head to toe despite the never-dying warm sunset rays that bathed the world. That was why they had the cold treat, after all— to balance out all the heat they were absorbing. But none of that mattered, in actuality. No one would look up, and if they did, none of them would be able to see them. It was as if they were literally Nobodies, in every sense of the word.

Watching as the younger of the two turned his head back to take in the breath-taking scenery after the older one's continuous silence, the figure standing never took his emerald eyes off of the one sitting. He let out a relieved sigh, soon after taking another lick of the popsicle the younger one had gotten for him. It was the first time he had tried the ice cream, despite being in that world for a hefty amount of time. The taste was…interesting, to say the least, but he had grown to love the treat for the full ten minutes he'd been eating it, which resulted in a pleased smile from the Key. The important thing was that the treat was something that was important to the younger individual, and that sentiment could make anything taste like heaven for the eighth member of the Organization.

The Key had been beginning to act a little odd, a little colder, from the boy he had grown to care about since the younger joined the Organization, and the older of the two knew that if anything could calm him down, it would be his old home. The older one had to wonder if he wasn't doing more harm than good, though. Showing him a world he was no longer a part of…giving him the possibility of seeing people he could never be with again. Would that not tear his partner into more pieces? His grip tightened around the small stick of the popsicle. He would never let that happen, and as far as he could tell right now, it actually made the thirteenth member stronger. Maybe he could continue their periodic visits to the world, until the boy told him he didn't want to come anymore. However, when that day came, then he would really have to worry.

'_Mm, it's all right,'_ the older of the two finally answered, moving his gaze to take in the scenery._'We've finished our mission, and we don't have another one yet. If the Superior gets upset, let me handle it. Besides, it's not like anyone will see us, so that won't be a problem.'_

It was the younger one's turn for his hand to tighten around his popsicle stick. He knew what the other was saying was true. To be able to see his friends, her smile…He _knew_ it, but it was different when someone else said it, and out loud at that. It _hurt_. Not that he was supposed to know what that felt like, apparently. Sapphire eyes narrowed slightly in anger and pain before softening as his gaze moved to catch the train in which he had heard the recent sounds of 'chooing' emit from. The simple noise had been able to make him feel better, pulling him from his pessimistic thoughts. Maybe what was said was true, but this was enough for him, for now. He'll find his other, learn what he needed to know, and then he could return to the life he knew. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he would be unable to go back to what he had. Nevertheless, it was the only thing that was keeping him going.

If he lost that, he didn't know what he would do.

**Crack. Fizzle. Fizzle.**

The eighth member knew that he had completely lost his partner now. The first couple of times when the Key had refused to head over to his old world, he blamed it on fatigue, for they did have a few rough assignments on those days—even the kid had to have some off days. But when the younger boy started to decline visits on his days off, the fire user knew something was wrong. Not only that, but the Key's usual chipper demeanor had dissolved, once again bringing about the cold and rocky countenance that he saw the first time he met the boy, and the new (or rather old) Key bothered the older man to no end. Was the day he feared drawing ever closer?

The Key never noticed the worrying glances of the man who had become his best friend since joining the Organization, the unemotional look upon his face betraying the fierce eternal battle that was occurring within him. He was beginning to grow tired of working for the Organization, for he was getting nowhere in his search regarding his other. The missions he was sent on were completely irrelevant, and when he asked them out front, the group was either unable, or unwilling, to give him the answers he sought. Not only that, but the way the people worked made him sick. Despite being one in the same, and presumably having the same dream, they all had terrible respect for each other save the Superior, and even worse attitudes towards beings that weren't Nobodies. The young boy found himself changing because of it, and he hated what he was becoming. This fact was something he told himself he could deal with if he was able to get the information he was looking for, but since that wasn't happening, either, the boy began to wonder what the point was of staying in the Organization.

And then his best friend had the gull to continuously suggest that they go visit his old world. Did he just happen to forget the purpose of him being there? It was great to see it all again, but the trips were increasingly becoming a waste of time—time that could be spent searching for answers. He couldn't return to his friends unless he solved his 'other' problem, and the longer it took to reach the bottom of it, the longer it was going to take him to go back. Didn't he understand that? Didn't he care? Why was he being a hindrance? Or was he telling him to let it go? Was he betraying him? Another little piece of the Key seemed to break off and die, making room for another piece of the new cold and aloof self to take its place. In the back of his head, the mantra he constantly told himself continued, though as of late it was beginning to resemble that of a tiny light engulfed in darkness—one that could be swallowed whole and snuffed out at any second.

_They're fine…they're fine. I might have left them when they were injured, but when I return, they'll be fine._I'll_ be fine. It just has to be._

**Complete and utter darkness.**

"At least…I'm able to be with her this time…"

xoxoxoxox

Roxas's mind felt groggy as he slowly slipped into consciousness. He had such a weird dream… Well, compared to the other bizarre ones he had been having lately, this dream was rather…normal, which then made it weird. It didn't involve Sora or Riku or him and any of his friends, instead starring a bunch of people in black trench coats. As if that wasn't odd enough, he didn't hear one word that came from the two who were in, what Roxas believed to be, Twilight Town. Their mouths were moving, but no sounds came out. Yet somehow, he was able to know what they were saying, making him wonder if he had recently the ability to read lips or if that was just a weird dream thing. After all, he had heard everything that was said in the large white room in the beginning of his dream, and the voice that had spoke out in the darkness at the end of his dream. At least, Roxas believed that was also part of his dream. That was yet another odd thing. It didn't follow the pattern of the rest of the dream. It sounded as if it came from within him, instead of him hearing it outwardly.

In fact, the voice sounded a lot like his own…younger by a few months perhaps, yet so much more mature and sullen, somehow. Thinking that only confused him more. Why would he say something like that…what did 'this time' mean? _Who is 'her'…?_ Roxas clenched his right hand, one of his subconscious habits that he did as he grew more awake, and he was surprised to find that his hand was holding onto something. Not only that, but the something squeezed his hand back as if prompted by his action. Startled, Roxas sat up, and sapphire eyes widened as they locked onto the emerald eyes. "Ole—" Wait, what was going on? Why was Olette in his room, right in front of him? Was he dreaming again…or still dreaming?

Roxas sharply stood up, never letting go of the hand he held, causing the chair he was sitting on to crash to the ground. As he quickly rotated his head around, absorbing his surroundings, yesterday's events flooded the blonde boy's mind, and a dull yet knowing feeling came over him. _I'm in the hospital…_ Sapphire eyes narrowed in pain slightly before widening again as Roxas whipped his head back around to face the brunette girl that lay in the bed beside him. "Olette!" Roxas yelled, though he swiftly closed his mouth shut as he realized how loud he was talking. "Olette," he tried again, softer this time, "Are you okay?" He took in her appearance. There was no longer an oxygen mask covering her airways, as was the case before he fell asleep last night, but there were still tubes sticking into her arm connecting her to IV fluids, as was the standard for anyone admitted into the hospital. Overall, the fifteen-year-old looked much livelier than she did when she was brought in, which instantly put Roxas's mind at ease.

The smile that had spread across Olette's face as she watched Roxas's antics had yet to disappear, and it was still there was she nodded her head to his question. What she would give to wake up with Roxas within her sight everyday, holding onto her hand as if afraid she'd disappear if he let go… _"I'm gonna have to spend less time with you and the gang."_ A flash of hurt was evident in her emerald eyes for a brief second, but the blonde boy didn't catch it as he moved his gaze to the chair he brought down. _No, that isn't it. He doesn't feel that way about me at all__._ "I'm fine, Roxas, thank you. Are you okay?" Olette asked as cheerfully as she could muster, not letting it show how sad and slightly empty she felt when Roxas let go of her hand to pick up the fallen chair. "It must not have comfortable sleeping on a chair with your arm as a pillow…"

Roxas chuckled as he sat himself back down on the chair he had just made upright, flashing a smile at Olette. "Not at all. Actually, it's the best sleep I've had in days." He added the last part softly, mostly to himself, a warmer smile gracing his facial features. A peaceful moment passed before Roxas snapped his head up, realizing how wrong his comment sounded in several different ways. As if he was able to sleep soundly because she was by his side, or even worse, that he was able to sleep without a care in the world with her being hurt… Fighting to keep back the blush he knew was coming, sapphire eyes frantically searched the room for a distraction before he slowed down and realized something. "Where's Hayner and Pence?"

One would think they could get used to the emotional rollercoaster ride a certain blonde boy could put you in, but Olette found that not to be the case, even after the amount of time she had known him for. Reminding herself that Roxas still cared for her as a friend, at least, she followed his gaze around the room as he asked her a question. "Ah, those two? I sent them home hours ago. I didn't want them sleeping here on my account. You had already nodded off by then, and I didn't want to wake you. I did have them bring over our skateboards when they visited again, though. I wonder how much sleep they really got if they came back so soon after I sent them home."

Olette nodded over to the window, where indeed two identical skateboards sat upon the windowsill, glowing under the warm rays of the twilight sun. Roxas looked over to where she indicated and nodded silently in understanding before blinking and turning his head back towards his female friend, his mouth agape. "S-skateboarding? B-but Olette, you shouldn't!" Roxas stated, almost desperately. He allowed her to leave her house when she had sprained her ankle, but to do this while still in the hospital? He couldn't let her be in more danger. He already almost lost her once. "You—"

"Needed oxygen, Roxas, not brain surgery," Olette finished for him with a laugh. She had heard the same lingering lecture from Hayner and Pence when they dropped off the skateboards. Olette appreciated the concern, but they had to know that it didn't exactly make her feel better knowing she made the people she cared about worry. And although it was the fact that she was going to skateboard so soon that had them anxious, she wanted to show them, and prove to herself, that she was indeed fine. Hayner and Pence figured even the most responsible of them needed to let loose once and a while, and if anything did happen, Roxas would be with her, so they allowed it.

Roxas continued to stare at her with his mouth wide open, trying to find the words to talk her out of it yet coming up empty. Did Hayner and Pence really approve of this? He finally came across one argument he was sure Olette couldn't counter, and determination was set in his eyes. "But you're still in—"

"Actually, I get released in a couple of hours," Olette responded before Roxas even finished his sentence, knowing exactly what it was that he wanted to say. She wasn't that insane to want to go skateboarding while still admitted in the hospital. That was a little too daring for her, and she definitely didn't want to get anyone in trouble by sneaking out of the building. "If it makes you feel any better, I heard Seifer was released this morning, so I've definitely been in here for a…long…time…" Olette trailed off as she realized just what she had said. The mere mention of Seifer's name had gotten her a sharp reaction out of Roxas, and it seemed stronger than the usual bad reaction she'd get when the Disciplinary Committee leader's name was mentioned. She wasn't sure about the details of what happened when she was found, since both Hayner and Pence weren't at the scene, but if she had to go by Roxas's expression, it wasn't a very good one.

Indeed, the mention of Seifer's name caused Roxas to see nothing but red. _Of course he was released earlier than you were. He wasn't really hurt, now was he? He can't be that hurt if he still had the strength to try and…_ Roxas closed his eyes and curled his hands into fists. He couldn't even finish the thought. He didn't even want to think about what could have happened if they arrived even another second later. _But it's not entirely Seifer's fault, is it? If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have had the chance to hurt Olette in the first place._ Roxas froze at his own thoughts, the image of Olette's emerald eyes shining due to tears before they were separated by the crowd coming to his mind. _"I can't let anything happen to Olette before she knows how sorry I am…"_ Apologize. He had to apologize. Roxas grabbed onto Olette's hand with both of his, sapphire eyes looking into her emerald ones almost pleadingly. "Olette—"

"Roxas," Olette interrupted him for what must have been the third time that afternoon, gently placing her free hand on top both of his. From the look in his eyes, she knew that he wanted to say something, to apologize, but she didn't want them to talk there. She had things she wanted to say to him, too. Before she could continue, though, the nurse came in, ready to take out the tubes from her arms and get her ready for her release. Olette didn't mind the interruption for it was the perfect lead way, and she squeezed Roxas's hand to pull his attention away from the nurse. "Hey, do you mind waiting outside for a bit? I have to change out of this gown, and my parents will be over to sign the release papers, but afterwards, will you go boarding with me?"

Roxas opened his mouth with every intention of trying to talk her out of it again, but there was no way he could deny the equally pleading look in Olette's wonderfully emerald eyes. He needed to talk with her, too, after all, and there was no way he was going to let Seifer or Luna get within ten feet of them, so she'd be safe. "Mm, you bet," he finally agreed, smiling slightly. His bladder had suddenly kicked in to remind him that he needed to make a trip to the bathroom, his stomach felt rather empty, and he wanted to call Hayner and Pence, too. He could definitely fill the time in. "I'll wait out by your parents when they arrive, okay?" With Olette's affirmative nod, Roxas detached his hands from Olette's and grabbed his skateboard from the windowsill before he left the room.

xoxoxoxox

The nurse left forty-five minutes later; the room was ready for its next occupant, and Olette was left to change, now having everything but her upper body done. Her black tank top was on and she was in the process of putting her orange one on top of it when a knock came at the door, slowly opening a few seconds afterward. "Ah, Roxas, is that you?" Olette said as calmly as she could, realizing that any moment earlier and Roxas would have walked in on her half-naked. "Are my parents here?" When no response came, Olette pulled down her second top and tried to suppress a blush as she turned to see that it wasn't her friend instead, but rather… "Seifer?" Olette breathed out, the shock evident on her face.

"…Yo," Seifer replied more sheepishly than he desired, his hand raised in the air in a greeting but his eyes elsewhere, knowing full well that if he arrived any earlier he would have seen much more than he would've expected. "If this is a bad time…"

Snapping out of her surprise, Olette shook her head, though she cast a quick glance at the door. "Ah, no, but…"

Knowing what she was thinking, Seifer lowered his hand and stuffed it in the pockets of his baggy chocolate pants. "Don't worry; I made sure that lamer number two wasn't around to see me. I'm not here for a confrontation."

Releasing a sigh of relief, Olette sat down on a nearby chair and offered the blonde boy a seat as well before clasping her hands in front of her. "So then, why are you here, Seifer?" She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel around Seifer. The last time she was alone with him, she ended up there, in the hospital. But she knew that wasn't his intention…hopefully. He ended up there, too, after all. And it started with the good intention of cheering her up, which she can't exactly blame him for. She did decide to go with him, so it couldn't completely be his fault if blame was to be put somewhere.

Seifer declined her offer to sit, instead going to stand behind her at the window. He was almost surprised that Olette was acting so civil towards him instead of calling for security. Her friends did give her some exaggerated version of what went down in the Concourse, didn't they? _That's just like Olette to still be so nice._ Smiling inwardly, Seifer kept a serious face outwardly, staring intently at nothing outside the window. "I came here to apologize. I'm not sure what your loser friends told you, but I wasn't…" Seifer paused, fidgeting with the insides of his pockets. He couldn't even say it, so how in the world could he be accused of carrying it out? "I didn't try to take advantage of you," he finished quietly.

With the room already silent, Olette was able to hear him clearly, and she turned in her seat in confusion, looking at him. Seifer turned his head to look back at her from the corner of his eye, realizing that he said such an embarrassing thing for nothing. It looked like the lamers didn't tell her that, though it was surely out of embarrassment, too, rather than out of curtsey towards him. With the hard part out of the way, though, he might as well explain the situation fully. "Your breathing…it was way too shallow, if there even was any. I thought you were going to lose it right there. So I was going to do the only thing that came to my mind—give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation." There was a small pause before anger began to boil up within Seifer as he remembered what happened. "And then Roxas came strolling in, pushing me off you like I was one of those psychos on the six o'clock news."

"Roxas did?" Olette asked, though it was more rhetorical and to herself. Before she could stop herself, she was taking the action in the wrong context, thinking Roxas might have acted like that for reasons other than being her friend. Then she remembered that having three guys as your best friends would get you three overly protective brothers for life. Well, Seifer's explanation definitely explained the way Roxas reacted when she mentioned him. Smiling, the brunette figured that it wasn't such a bad trade-off, and she stood to stand beside Seifer, facing the opposite way so that she was leaning against the wall beside the window. "Well, I'm still not sure about all the details, like what Luna had to do with all of this, but thanks for trying to save me, Seifer." When Seifer turned his head towards her in disbelief, Olette smiled and turned her head to look out the window. "I'm not sure if I can convince the others to lay off on this one, but—"

"Che, thanks, but no thanks, Olette," Seifer said, butting in. "I didn't come here hoping you'd get me a good deal with the three lamers you hang out with. And since it looks like my work here is done, I'll be getting out of your hair now." Meeting Olette's gaze for a moment, Seifer turned and made his way towards the door.

"…Thanks for yesterday, Seifer," Olette called, and he froze at the door, his hand on the doorknob. "It didn't exactly end very well, but it helped…getting my mind off my troubles. Mission accomplished," she finished, and Seifer didn't need to turn around to know that there was a smile on her face.

Seifer's shoulders tensed, his eyes closing and his grip on the handle tightening. There was no hint of sarcasm or ill-will intended behind the girl's words. She was being sincere, genuinely thanking him for their time together despite how it ended up with the two of them in the hospital. He stood there silently with his back towards her for another moment before he quickly bowed his head and raced out of the room. Smiling again, Olette looked up at the ceiling. It was time to face her troubles. Grabbing her skateboard, Olette headed out to meet Roxas.

xoxoxoxox

When Seifer returned to his group's hideout, he saw Fuu, Rai, and even Vivi automatically stop what they were doing and move over to him. As if that wasn't odd enough, none of them said a word after they had surrounded him, instead staring intently at him waiting for him to do something. Getting frustrated at both the silence and the looks, Seifer brought his palm up to rest on the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. "_What_ is _it_?" he hissed, his closed eyes tightening at the words he accented heavily on.

"Stolen!" Fuu responded in her usual one-word sentences, unaffected by her boss' seemingly foul mood for she was quite used to it. She was probably one of the only ones who could handle Seifer when he got extremely pissed off.

Somewhat intrigued, Seifer opened his eyes and crossed his arms. He was itching to do some Disciplinary work after everything he recently went through. "What is?"

"Our proof that we owned Roxas, y'know?" Rai answered this time, crossing his arms as well, since it was more of his trademark than it was Seifer's, before nodding over towards the back wall.

Cobalt eyes narrowed at this response, not as pleased with it as he was the previous one. "What did you say?" Seifer said in a tone that dared Rai to repeat his words, and when Rai was just about to go and say what he said again, Seifer shook his head and walked past him, heading for the back of the room. Indeed, the picture that was taken by Fuu a few days before no longer hung on the back wall as it had been since. Trying to suppress his anger, Seifer slowly turned around to look back at the three that made up his team. He was actually looking forward to giving the photo a stare to remind himself how much superior he was to Hayner's group after the he and his two other lamers tried to wrongfully peg him for assault. "And _what_ exactly were you people doing when it was taken, huh?"

"Out." It was Fuu again, somehow successfully explaining that none of them were in the hideout when the photo was stolen.

The fact did little to appease Seifer, especially when it technically only answered half of his question. He decided to drop that question for another. "And? You guys had better have some leads on who took it." If they weren't around when it was taken, the next best thing was to go out again and find out where the heck it was, for that was the next best thing to pleasing the beanie-wearing boy.

"Hayner's group is the prime suspect," Vivi said softly, adjusting his hat as he spoke.

Seifer opened his mouth to speak but froze as Vivi's words set in. In his gut, he was expecting that answer, considering their history with said group, the content of said picture, and the events that had just transpired 24 hours ago. And if it was any other time, he would have jumped on the chance to go after them. But now that he had patched things up with Olette, he didn't want to go after them so soon. Seifer was silent for a while, fidgeting on the spot where he stood. He knew he was going to sound lame, but it was the only course of action he could take at the moment. "And the proof is?"

Fuu, Rai and Vivi glanced at one another, knowing that normally their leader wouldn't fuss over such details, especially when it came to Hayner's group. Rai shrugged it off though and took a step forward. "We've been gettin' other reports, y'know? About other stuff that's been stolen. And they've all got a connection to Roxas, y'know? Everyone's thinking it."

Seifer paused again, taking time to think. Well, if it was more than one case, who was he to fight fate? He was sure Olette would see it his way when she saw the evidence against them. Smirking, Seifer patted Rai on the back and started towards the exit, waving to his group to follow behind him. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's gather s'more clues and nail the lamers."

xoxoxoxox

The view really was amazing from up there. It was surprisingly silent, way up above the world, and the cool breeze that frequented the high place was a refreshing relief from the warm rays of the sun. He understood why the people from his dream were there, though he wasn't even aware any else other than he and his friends went up to the high ledge of the Clock Tower. It felt like one of their special places, a place that connected them all to each other. He sighed, leaning back, before he blinked as a light-blue treat was placed before his eyes. Looking up past the popsicle, Roxas was met with the smiling face of Olette, and he smiled back as he took the treat for her. "Thanks," he said, taking a lick of the frozen treat.

"No problem. It looked like you needed it, with you spacing out from all the heat," Olette teased, taking a seat on Roxas's right and stealing lick out of her own sea salt ice cream. Their skateboards lay behind them, seemingly taking a rest from the little outing their riders had put them on. It was a simple little trip around the entirety of Market Street, no lessons or crazy tricks involved. They did happen to work up a sweat, and Olette suggested they rest up at the Clock Tower. Roxas agreed, and she went to get them some snacks.

_Still caring, no matter what,_ Roxas mused, remembering how Olette refused his offer to get the treats instead. A comfortable silence settled between the two as they ate their popsicles and took in the beautiful scenery before them. Eventually, Roxas slowed down his consumption of his snack and took a quick glance at Olette. He didn't forget the real reason they were there. "Olette…" Roxas started, but stopped as he turned to face the brunette. She didn't need to interrupt him in order for him to understand that she wanted to speak first. He got the feeling earlier that she wanted to talk, too.

"I've…gotten a little better at skateboarding, huh?" Olette asked rhetorically, not turning her head to look at him. "I don't think I'll need that pro teacher, so don't worry about finding me one. I'll continue to board by myself, for there's only one person who I'd want to teach me…" Her words trailed off painfully and softly, and sapphire eyes narrowed in equal pain as Roxas remembered what he told her yesterday before they were separated. He thought he saw her cheeks turn into a light shade of pink, but passed it off as his imagination and turned his gaze forward, unable to look at Olette without feeling some sort of guilt.

She seemed to pause as if waiting for some sort of response, but when she got none, she continued anyway, knowing Roxas understood what she was referring to. "I don't…know why you're saying you want to focus on school in order to avoid us. I mean, if it's true, I understand, and I'm sorry if I'm taking this the wrong way, but Roxas…if you don't want to be around me, it's okay. I get it. I'll lay off. But don't take it out on Hayner or Pence. They don't have anything to do with this…"

Roxas couldn't help but snap his head back towards Olette, his mouth open in disbelief and his eyes heavy with confusion. "Olette, what…?" was all that he was able to get out, sapphire eyes searching her face for some kind of explanation, watching as she closed her eyes and turned her head away from him slightly. He knew his school excuse was a little more than weak, but what did she mean that he didn't want to be around her, or that Hayner and Pence didn't have anything to do with it? His actions yesterday might have said otherwise, but the last thing he wanted was to be separated from her. And Hayner and Pence were definitely involved…all of them were. Whatever was happening to him, and was going to happen to him, was involving his friends and he didn't want to drag them into it. Letting out a small frustrated cry, Roxas slouched over, grabbing a fistful of blonde hair in his free hand. _Everything's turning into an even bigger mess…can't I do anything right?_

He wanted to tell her the truth, he really did. To tell her that if felt like his life wasn't his life anymore. To tell her that it felt like his thoughts, his feelings, his heart, his soul…none of them were his anymore. To tell her that he felt like they were all just toys to someone else and the more he struggled for control the more he lost it. He was beginning to reach his limit, and he knew he could trust Olette with such soul-bearing words. But it was as if something or someone knew what he was planning to do and somehow restricted him from doing so. And since he felt held back, he thought that it was his subconscious telling him that the minute he told Olette the truth, it would put her in even more danger. Thus, Roxas said nothing, instead continuing his inner battle and fighting to find something else to say.

Olette slowly opened her eyes and turned her head towards him when Roxas continued to stay silent, seemingly her turn to have her mouth open and eyes filled with confusion. She took in his slouched over form, the deep sorrow etched in his face, the small indent in his hand where his bone popped up from holding onto his hair too tightly. It was very rarely, if at all, that she saw this side of Roxas—a Roxas that wasn't cheerful, scatterbrained and easy-going, but serious, lost, and stressed. He must have been reaching his limit and deadly afraid, yet he still went of bottling up inside, keeping all the pain to himself. "Roxas…" she said gently, realizing that she had completely misunderstood what was going on yesterday. Something much bigger and serious was going on. _Was this what was plaguing him the past week?_

But why wouldn't he let her in? Did he not trust her? Olette found herself whimpering despite herself, clutching the edge of the ledge with her hand so tightly that her hand was turning pale. Both of their ice creams had long since been dripping to the ground several feet below, but neither party seemed aware of it or cared that much, seeing as they continued to keep the treat unattended. Didn't he understand that she would take on all of his suffering if it meant he could be happy? If he was worried about her safety, she could tell him not to worry, that she could take care of herself…well, if they omitted yesterday's events. Shouldn't it be her decision whether she wanted such protection? Olette's vision became muddled as tears invaded, and she slouched over herself and bowed her head down to hide the fact. After a moment of searching for the right words to say, she raised her head up slightly, looking ahead but staring at the blonde teen by her side.

"Your heart…is your own, Roxas. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You don't exist for the benefit of someone else if that's not what you want your life to be. A part of you rests in all of us, Roxas, and _no one_ will never be able to take the real you away with taking us along with you." It started off as Olette trying to tell Roxas that he didn't have to feel like he had to like her back just because she liked him, but as she began to think back over the past couple of days, she was able to gather that Roxas was afraid of losing himself. The weird dreams, the missing memories, being unable to tell what is real and what wasn't… Olette wasn't sure if she was right, or if she had taken a great big step in the wrong direction reading too much into it, but with Roxas not divulging anything, she'd never know. All she could do was try to be there in the dark for him and comfort him as best she could until Roxas let her in…or come to a point where she would have to force her way in.

Although Olette was stabbing in the dark, she always managed to know just what to say to make him feel better. "Olette…" Roxas whispered, his arm now down on his lap and his face turned towards her. He could tell that keeping her in the dark was hurting her, but he also knew that it was much safer there than in the light of knowing. "…I'm sorry," he added after a few moments, looking down at the mess that plagued his ice cream hand. It wasn't clear whether he was apologizing for yesterday's events, being unable to tell her the truth, or both, but what he was apologizing for didn't matter so much to Olette rather than the fact that he was apologizing at all.

Olette blinked as she looked at him, the action causing the tears that built up her eyes to cascade down rather beautifully. She laughed as she looked forward again, though it was anything but out of happiness. "You're so stubborn," she stated, lifting her free hand to wipe her tears away. Sapphire eyes met emerald ones as the two of them looked at each other at the same time, and they smiled just as simultaneously. Roxas then worked to free himself of the sticky mess that plagued his ice cream hand, and Olette smiled at his actions before slowly stood up, clasping her arms behind her as she leaned all of her weight to one side, her ice cream continuing to drip behind her.

"Roxas, don't ever change," Olette said softly while she stared out before her, a cool breeze blowing by and ruffling her brunette locks. Roxas halted his work to look up at her questioningly, appreciating the view for a moment, before wondering what she could've meant by that.

_They can't succeed in taking over me unless I let them. _

'_So don't change who you are, don't become one of them, so they'll never be able to.'_

Smiling faintly, Roxas nodded and leaned back, his free arm supporting his weight as his other hand lifted his treat to his mouth. He wouldn't change, if not so that whoever was after him wouldn't win, but so that the Roxas that was within Olette would not differ from who he was. He will always want to remain as the Roxas that was within her heart. If he changed, they would change together. "Mm," was the only response Roxas gave, but it seemed to be enough for Olette as she finally brought up her popsicle to her mouth. Together, the two watched the twilight sky in comfortable silence.

_Restoration at 11%._

Six more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes:** I think my Namiku part was a little lacking this chapter, ne? And I made Riku all emo xD Or have I always been doing that? –ignores Riku's piercing stares- But it will explain his withdrawn from Naminé that's shown in the game.

I had a lot of fun writing Roxas's dream this time around. There's rarely any news about Roxas's time while he was apart of the Organization. I wasn't going for any AkuRoku, so don't worry about that, any fellow haters of the pairing. I just found them to be, well, best friends, and I wanted to show why Axel felt that way. I'm sorry if I confused anyone by not using their given names, or for making it a little hard to realize that Roxas and Axel aren't actually talking in their scene together, for I'm sure I didn't make it clear enough when I had Roxas explain it in the chapter.

Remember the beginning of the game, where Roxas was talking to Xemnas, but he never physically talked, instead only showing the subtitles? It was something like that. Remember, Roxas isn't aware that he was a Nobody, and it's too early for him to start knowing Axel when he was oblivious to him in the game. That's my reasoning.

I'm sure Olette's stay in the hospital was short, but I couldn't just have them stay there! I needed the beautiful sunset scene that mirrored Sora's and Kairi's when she told him not to change xDDv In fact, I actually had another version of that scene. I originally made it rather fluffy, but it felt too OOC to me, so I cut it out and wrote the version you see here xD I wish Roxas and Olette were at the stage that I wrote them as in that version… -sighs happily-

I also hope it didn't feel too Seifer x Olette there, either xD I'm beginning to lean towards Seifer and Luna, for that's how I have it planned in the sequel (though it's too early to talk about that, ne? xD). I'll definitely have to give them a scene sometime, because Seifer is definitely going to confront her about the mess that happened the day before. But I wanted to put in the scene where the Disciplinary Committee learns that things are being missing, as they obviously know about it in the game, and to show that they weren't spreading it around that Hayner's gang stole it, like Hayner thought he did.


	9. The Stolen : :

** author' s notes:** Uwa! Can you believe it? An update less than a week since the last one! Mwahaha. Well, it was a bit easier to do now that I'm into game days. You'll notice that I didn't go exactly by what happened in the game, and that I did in fact add in some novel and manga scenes, especially the latter. Plus, there is my own personal flare to all of the above, and then my own wonder creativity separate from all of the above xD

I do hope you all tell me what you think of it!

I also just learned the history between Roxas and the TT Gang when I read the tenth chapter of the manga, and it's all so sad. I must make a happy ending for this quartet...er, eventually xD The ending to this will be bittersweet if anything.

The fast update is also due to me being on my Spring Break, which will end this weekend, so the updates may slow down again, though certainly not as much as five or so months like last time…hopefully.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, which is longer than Chapter VII, if you can believe that!

** Disclaimer:** Since I'm using some references, I'll just like to point out once again that the Kingdom Hearts games, the novels, and the manga, are not my property. Nomura, and all the writers and artists, have that right.

* * *

**Chapter IX:** The Stolen –—–

It was one of those rare times the group of them assembled together. Well, most of the group, anyway. The 'Whirlwind Lancer', Xaldin, was absent, off at some monster's Castle, quite literally, working on his mission. It wasn't as if the rest of them didn't have things to do, or that Lancer was particularly more work-devoted than they were. Xaldin was quite the impulsive individual, and since he didn't see what all the fuss was about over their thirteenth member, he found no real reason to sit around with the rest of them and left in quite a huff saying he had to 'do some real work'. The Superior was also not there, unsurprisingly, as he had other business to attend to. He left _that_ particular mission to Flurry, of course, and the leader was quite certain the eighth member would not fail him. The remaining four members, as intrigued as they were during the first appearance of their youngest member, decided to keep Flurry company.

"Hey, this must feel like old times, doesn't it, Axel?" Xigbar, the 'Freeshooter', barked with a laugh, settling deep into the comfortable white chair he sat upon to stare at the enormous computer screen that stood before the five of them in the equally white room. "The stalking, the chasing, the kidnapping…hey, if you're going to grab that girl to use as bait again, call me, will you? I missed the horrified look on her face when she woke up the first time." Another laugh escaped the senior member of the XIII Order.

Well, no one said the other four were there for moral support.

Demyx, the 'Melodious Nocturne', Saïx, the 'Luna Diviner', and Luxord, the 'Gambler of Fate', shuffled silently in their seats beside the Freeshooter, too focused on staring at the computer screen to pay much attention to Xigbar's insulting words. The old man was always running off on his mouth, anyway. While it didn't bug the rest of them, Axel, the 'Flurry of Dancing Flames', was just about to explode, or rather, explode _someone_. Such had to be the case when Xigbar's words were directed towards him alone, and when any noise coming out of the four behind him were making him lose his concentration, standing there before the keyboard of the computer.

It was three days ago that they learned the whereabouts of their Key of Destiny. In another one of their rare gatherings in the high-ceilinged pure white room of their castle, the seven of them sat in their respectful seats, which stood high above the floor, which was several stories below. It had been a long while since they were together, and in that specific room no less, and all but the Superior couldn't help but self-consciously stare at the six empty chairs around them. Numbers four to six…eleven to thirteen…all but one had been lost during the previous mission at Castle Oblivion, which was now a few months ago. It was sort of morale killer to be physically reminded of how little of them were left. Even if all of them weren't exactly buddy-buddy with each other, they were all the same beings, had the same goals…to have this happen…

_"We have finally found what we seeked,"_ Xemnas spoke, cutting into the silence and pulling their attention away from the thoughts that were growing heavy in their minds.

Xigbar was the first to snap back to reality, and he sat straighter in his chair as he moved his gaze to the Superior. _"Roxas? Or the hero?"_

_"Both,"_the tan-skinned man replied simply, lazily sitting back in his seat.

At the mere mention of Roxas, Axel had already sat up, and he shrugged at the Superior's answer as if to hide the relief and happiness he felt. _"Both at the same time? That's too good to be true…"_ he said, thinking it was all right, and less suspicious, if he voiced his speculation aloud.

_"That means someone is behind this…"_ Saïx mused, crossing his arms and making himself more comfortable in his seat as he continued to contemplate in silence.

_"…I can smell _that_ man,"_ Xemnas seemed to say in an afterthought, and a bitter one at that, Saïx not being the only one to be lost in thought. His words, though, were implying to the redhead that it was _not_ too good to be true. They had found what they were looking for, and it was real because he could sense 'that' man.

_"'That man'?"_ Demyx repeated, finding the rather vague explanation more intriguing than the actual news the Superior had just told them.

_"But it can't be…"_ Xaldin breathed out as he leaned forward on the edge of his chair. Like Demyx, he was rather interested in the simple phrase, but unlike the youngest blonde boy amongst them, the Lancer knew who Xemnas was referring to.

Not wanting to be kept in the dark, the blonde boy turned towards Luxord, who was on his right. _"Hey, who's 'that man'?"_ Demyx asked, scooting over towards the side of his chair that was closer to the Gambler to hear the answer more clearly.

Unfortunately, for the ninth member, he had moved closer only to hear harsh words more clearly. _"Just shut up,"_ was the answer Luxord gave him, trying to listen to what was being said.

_"Tch,"_ Demyx let out, clearly not pleased with the response he got. Scooting over towards the other side of his chair, the blonde boy leaned over the wide armrest to get a better look at the redhead on his left. _"Hey, Axel…"_ he started, knowing the other knew what he wanted to ask. After several moments, though, Axel was still silent, seemingly lost in thought, though the Nocturne took it as a cold brush off. _"You're shutting yourself up, too?"_ he asked desperately, knowing if anyone was going to answer him, it was Axel. And if he didn't, then no one would.

_"Be quiet, Demyx,"_ Xigbar snapped from across from him, causing the boy to sigh and sink low in his seat, now completely disinterested in the conversation taking place. What was the point of paying attention if he didn't understand what they were talking about?

Axel, meanwhile, was indeed lost in thought, having never heard a word the Nocturne had said to him. _What would have happened if I had stopped Roxas? Maybe none of this would have happened if I spilled the secret to him. But I can never betray the Organization. No…I actually already did. I was the one who eliminated the other members in the Castle, and let Naminé meet Riku. But it wasn't a complete betrayal. Inside, I still had doubts. Why am I here? What do I want? I'm still having doubts. What should I have done? What should I do now? Roxas…_ Red eyebrows came together in confusion and frustration as Axel closed his eyes and brought a gloved hand to his forehead. None of the other members noticed Axel's silence or actions, too caught up in the continuing discussion.

That is, all but the Superior, who rested rather amused amber eyes upon the bothered redhead.

"So he's really in there, huh?" Demyx eventually commented as he leaned forward in his chair to get a closer look at the display on the large computer screen. It was now the present again, and the Nocturne's words pulled Axel back from his memories. Great, all their murmuring had driven him to reminiscing instead of focusing on the work before him.

"That's some strategy they got there," Luxord mused, unable to help but praise their enemy's plot since he was more of a strategist than anything. The Order would never think of going as far as creating a fake world, but that did require a lot of work they may not be willing to give. The Superior entrusting that particular mission to Axel alone was proof enough of that.

Saïx crossed his arms and scoffed as he sat further back in his seat, closing his eyes. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my mission with the real Town, _he_ could create as many virtual worlds as he wants."

Gloved hands slammed against the keyboard, and fiery emerald eyes turned to glare at the four seated beings behind him. "Will you four just _shut it__?_" Axel yelled, waving his left hand out in front of him to accentuate his point. "What is this, a movie theatre?" he continued, eyeing the chairs they sat on. Those weren't there before. _He_ didn't even have a chair to sit on. He worked standing up. Axel was just about finished making a digital copy of himself to insert into the world and personally check up on the Nobodies he sent there, but with these four quacking away he'd never get it done.

"_Someone's_ tense about their mission," Demyx observed, saying it almost in a childlike manner. Axel's eyebrow twitched, as if daring him to take over the mission instead, but the ninth member stayed obediently silent, cerulean eyes staring at the floor for a moment as if in shame before looking up at the screen.

Saïx remained quiet, knowing how important the retrieval of Roxas was to the Superior, and Xigbar laughed before sharing one final comment with the redhead. He knew more than to go against Saïx, for despite his rank, the Diviner was practically second in command to Xemnas. "I'm not kidding about the girl, eh, Axel."

Axel shook his head as he turned back around to resume his work, though now he couldn't help but wonder if Xigbar had a point. _Kidnap her again, huh…_ It definitely wasn't original, but it did have resounding success the first time he did it. _Roxas wasn't happy about it, though…_ Gloved hands faltered in their work before they busily tapped away on the keyboard again. Well, if worst came to worst, he'd do it again.

It was just a copy this time, anyway.

xoxoxoxox

Heavy tapping noises came from within the small computer room, resounding loudly off the four walls for it was practically empty save for the lone girl in the room, continuing work that she had started at the beginning of the week. DiZ was out on some unknown business again, taking Riku along with him. She wasn't too surprised that the Ansem-looking teen decided to go without a fight, for he had been avoiding her ever since their conversation the morning before. It affected her badly, of course, but she had learned a great deal about how Riku acted from the amount of time she spent with him the past several months, and being in close proximity to each other only added to that. He was more confused and lost than angry with her, and when the sixteen-year-old swallowed some of his pride and the haze was slightly cleared from his vision, he'll make his way back to her, and she will be waiting for him with open arms.

All she had to do was give the boy time. The bleach-blonde haired girl lost sense of it sometimes, but even Riku deserved to be human and have cracks in his otherwise flawless and strong front. "Everything he does is for Sora…and for the world," Naminé suddenly spoke aloud, the frantic tapping of fingertips upon keys coming to a stop. Riku never took time for himself, or did things only for himself…he had a purpose, and he worked relentlessly to achieve it. "…But what about me? Why am I here?" the Nobody continued mindlessly, her voice losing the emotion 'it never had'. Sure, she was there to restore Sora's memories, and as much as she did want to help him, half of the reason behind it all was because DiZ was forcing her to. The other part of her was still having doubts, for she knew she was hurting a lot of people. And, unlike Riku, she wasn't doing it for the world; she was doing it selfishly, just to make herself feel like she was righting a wrong and doing a good deed. What was the reason for her existence? _What should I do…?_

Cerulean eyes blinked as they finally focused on the message that had been blinking on the screen for several minutes now. 'Command to data merge 90% of file to selected entity upon termination of current program: Are you sure? Warning: selecting [YES] will not allow the action to be undone.' Naminé read the phrase once, twice, and even a third time, a single finger hovering over the 'Enter' button to select 'Yes'. She had intended to go along with this plan since she had first thought of it the first few days she had begun working under DiZ. But now she hesitated—she would be acting without fully knowing how it would affect the people involved, for her own selfish reasons again. _But it will rectify all the wrong doings that have transpired these past few months._ Swallowing her doubts, Naminé affirmed the blinking command. As soon as she did, another one popped up.

'Command to data merge the remaining 10% of the file to selected entity upon first access of damaged file: Are you sure? Warning: selecting [YES] will not allow the action to be undone.' Riku would be so mad with her. But she knew he'd understand, once she explained it to him. He just had to. A pale finger pressed down upon the key, affirming the message once again.

There was no going back now.

xoxoxoxox

It was a dark world, and it if wasn't for the light that shone from the low-set moon, the place would have been in complete darkness. The water that spanned out from the shoreline of the beach reflected the moonlight, brightening the world even more than if it was simply plain sand as far as the eye could see. On one side of the beach, a figure decked completely in black appeared from a portal that opened from a large vertically inclined rock, and from the opposite side of the beach, another figure in an identical trench coat, sitting upon a horizontally inclined rock, turned his head as the newly arrived individual approached.

_"You have arrived,"_ the sitting figure said, his voice deep, indicating that he was no child. _"I've been to see him…"_ the man continued, looking ahead briefly before returning his gaze to the being beside him. _"He looks a lot like you."_

The standing figure was silent for a brief moment, staring back at the lower man as if sizing him up. _'Who are you?'_ was the person's response, completely ignoring the man's comments, or rather asking because of them, though the words went unheard by the dreamer.

_"I'm what's left,"_ the man answered easily despite his own comments being left unattended. _"Or…"_ he went on, removing his gaze from the person beside him, _"maybe I'm all there ever was."_

_'I meant your name,'_ the figure retorted, not exactly pleased with the vague and musing response.

_"My_ name_ is of no importance."_ It didn't seem like he was willing to answer everything so easily. _"But what about you?"_ The sound of metal clanking together was heard as the sitting man turned his head to face the standing figure once again, causing the chained metal that hung from his hood and around the neckline to hit each other. _"Do _you_ remember your _true_ name?"_

The standing figure didn't seem put off by the sudden change of roles in who was asking the questions. In fact, it seemed like the person was really trying to figure it out. _'My true name…is…'_

**Darkness.**

_"Sora."_ A female's voice echoed in the endless darkness.

**A deep blue sky, a shining sun, wispy clouds.**

Sora opened his eyes as if he was waking from a dream, sitting up to glance at the aquamarine waters and sandy beach before him. Unable to fight back a yawn, he lean back to lie down again but jumped straight back up when a redheaded girl filled his line of sight.

**Static.**

_"Whoa!"_ Sora yelled, turning around and getting on his hands and knees to look at the girl who giggled behind him. _"Gimme a break, Kai—!"_

**Fizzle, fizzle, crack.**

_"Giving up already?"_ Riku taunted as he ran, glancing at Sora who ran beside him, though the brunette boy was too focused and determined to win to reply. Behind them, the redheaded girl ran with a smile upon her face.

**Static, coding, fizzle.**

The sun was setting, throwing the once blue sky into a flurry of purple, orange and pink. Sora and the redheaded girl sat upon an oddly bent tree, while Riku stood against it, his arms crossed as he looked out at the seemingly endless sea. _"If there are any other worlds out there, why did _we_ end up on this one?"_ Sora leaned over past the girl to say something to Riku's words, but he was cut off before he could say it by another round of **static**.

_"This world has been connected."_ Startled, Sora, who had been staring at the drawing he and the redheaded girl had made of each other in the Secret Cave, turned around sharply at the unknown voice, slowly standing up.

_"Wha? Who's there?"_ Sora called, being able to hide his fear for the most part. He couldn't see anything in the dimly lit cave but the heavy shadows on the far side opposite of him.

The voice continued as if he hadn't heard the brunette boy, though. _"Tied to the darkness…"_

**Fizzle.**

It was another sunset, though this time Sora and the girl were alone, and instead of sitting on the awkwardly bent tree, they were sitting on the docks. The girl suddenly stood up, and Sora looked up at her in mild confusion and curiosity. _"Sora, don't ever change."_ Without answering, Sora looked back out at the startling scene before them once again.

**Crack, shift, fizzle.**

It was pitch black. Sora found it a wonder he could even see Riku, who stood in front of him, holding out a gloved hand. _"The door…has opened…"_ the silver-haired teen said slowly, as if in a trance. Sora tried to move towards him, but stopped as he noticed black pools forming beneath the two of them.

_"What?"_ Sora let out, almost in frustration but more out of confusion, struggling to grab a hold of his best friend's hand as shadows wrapped around them, pulling him down. What was Riku saying at a time like that?

**Fizzle, coding, static.**

Sora was alone now, seemingly stranded on some small island, and he slowly stood up to face the towering black mass with glowing yellow eyes that was behind him. Above him, lightening streaked across the dead sky, and all around him flew pieces of his world, being drawn into the vortex high above him. The same voice that spoke to him in the cave spoke once again.

"_You understand nothing."_

**Brief static.**

The redheaded girl was in front of him now, reaching a hand out towards him helplessly as the wooden door slammed open behind her, inviting a strong gust of wind in its wake. Sora brought his hands up to shield his face from the wind, but looked up in time to see the girl being pushed by the wind towards him. He opened his arms wide to catch the girl when she would collide into him, but to his horror, the girl disappeared right on impact. _"So…ra…"_ she breathed out before she was completely gone, and Sora stared at the empty space before him in horror before the powerful gust was blowing him right out of the cave.

xoxoxoxox

The medium-sized room had a warm glow to it, and a huge part of that had to go towards the sun that was eternally stuck in a sunset position, whose warm light easily passed through the window of the boy's room, as there was no curtains or blinds to guard it. It was a good architectural decision on the builder's part, for not only was the window placed in accurate alignment to catch the sun's rays, but he had an unobstructed view on the rest of Twilight Town—no large buildings in the way or people's hanged clothing greeted the boy in the morning. He was always able to tell how many trains passed by before he missed the last one that went to his school, as the raised train tracks were also in view. The room itself held a lot of furniture and accessories with a moon or star design, an unconscious liking of them on the boy's part, and it was all unexpectedly well ordered, considering his age and gender. Come school time was a different matter though, and he would rarely be able to see the surface of his desk due to all the papers that would land there and then never be touched again.

And on one side of it all was Roxas, who lay rather peacefully on his bed, his land resting lazily upon his stomach with the covers piled uselessly at his feet. One had to wonder why he continued to sleep with one when he nearly tripped over them a few days earlier, but the blonde haired boy was more lazy than anything to remove them. The silence that filled the room was soon broken as Roxas made light grunts as he awoke, and he blinked his eyes open cautiously as if he expected to see emerald orbs staring back at him. When only his plain ceiling greeted him, Roxas closed his eyes again and sighed, a mixture of relief and regret in the release of air. He was happy he wasn't in the hospital anymore, having to worry if he'd ever see those emerald eyes look back at him, but he was also a little disappointed—it was a nice feeling to have her smiling face the first thing he saw when he woke up.

Sighing at how hopeless he was, Roxas sat up in his bed and rubbed the back of his head, remnants of his dream coming back to him now that he mind was off Olette. "Another dream about him…" he whispered to himself, looking down at his bed sheets. It's been a few days since he dreamt about Sora, and the dream was so…broken. It never stayed on one scene for long, and it seemed to jump all over the place. Not only that, but those hooded people were in it again, too. Why did that one person never talk, though?

"_Don't ever change."_ The redheaded girl's voice echoed in his head. How weird was that? Olette had said the same thing to him yesterday. "Other worlds, huh…" he added offhandedly, remembering Riku's words, and somehow, Roxas wondered if that was the reason behind all his odd dreams, if such a thing as other worlds was possible. It was definitely better than thinking something bad was going to happen to him.

"Roxas!"

Blinking out of his little dream analysis, sapphire eyes moved to his window, and he got to his knees and pushed it open, looking down to see Hayner, Pence and Olette down below waving at him. He must've overslept, or something big was going on, for his friends to come over personally to wake him up. Before he could help it, a big bright smile spread across his face. "I'll be ready to go in a sec!" Roxas yelled down to them before scrambling to change out of his PJs. In record time, he was standing outside with his friends, making his mother wonder what hurricane had burst through the house while she had her back turned in the kitchen.

xoxoxoxox

"So, what's up?" Roxas asked as the four of them made their way to the Usual Spot.

Hayner, who walked on Roxas's left side, waved his hand out in front of him. "It's too important to be said out in the open," he replied, glancing around the relatively empty streets of Station Heights as they walked as if he was looking for anyone suspicious.

Raising an eyebrow at his best friend's stranger-than-usual antics, Roxas glanced over at Olette and Pence, who walked on his right, but he was met with shrugs. They didn't have much of a clue about what had Hayner so wound up, either. Letting out a soft sigh, Roxas moved his gaze upwards to stare at the twilight sky. "Hey…do you guys believe there are other worlds out there?" he asked when silence befell them a few moments afterward. The topic caught his friends' attention, and it had little to do with the fact that they had something new to focus on.

"Other worlds? As in..._other_ worlds?" Hayner repeated redundantly, unable to show his shock about the question in any other way.

"Scientists always claim there are, don't they? That 'we're not alone in this world.' But they're never able to prove it, and it's not as if it's possible to travel outside of this world, or for others to come in. I mean, we've been surrounded by the same people since forever. I'll believe it when I see it," Pence replied in a much more educated answer than Hayner's, though its cynical view did little to make Roxas feel better.

"I dunno…it's a nice dream, isn't it? I bet we've all wished that we were somewhere else when we're upset, right?" Leave it to Olette to offer the optimistic outlook that instantly lifted his spirits. "I didn't know you were so interested in astronomy, though, Roxas," Olette added, tilting her head to offer him a gentle and curious smile. She knew about all the moon and star shaped accessories in the blonde boy's room, but he never really talked about it enough to make the brunette girl believe he was really into it. Though remembering yesterday, Roxas didn't exactly talk about much with them. Emerald eyes lowered slightly at the pain such a realization brought her, but she soon tried to cheer herself up and brought her gaze back up to Roxas.

Roxas found his face warming up slightly, and he scratched the side of his face lightly as he tilted his own head the other way, missing Olette's flash of pain. "Ah, no, I just…"

Before he could continue, the quartet was interrupted by a nearby shop loudly shutting its doors as they passed by, as if it was done intentionally. The four of them stopped and stared, three of them wondering what that was all about while their leader narrowed his eyes knowingly. And then before they knew it, shops and stalls were closing all around them. For some reason, the loud way they all went about it seemed amplified in Roxas's ears, and he unconsciously covered his ears and closed his eyes. Closing his eyes didn't seem to help, though, as behind his closed eyelids the image of Sora's world being sucked up into the vortex played. Cringing, Roxas didn't notice that Hayner had placed his hands upon his shoulders and was steering him, and the others, to the Usual Spot.

_What is this feeling? It's like in my dreams…I don't have any will of my own. I can only watch as Sora interacts with his friends…as my own friends get hurt. I only get the 'sensation' of it, trapped in my own body. The only time I can remembering moving on my own accord was when I was facing that that large shadow and I almost got swallowed by the darkness. Why is that…?_

"See, this is what I'm talking about!" Hayner said heatedly.

"What is what you're talking about? You never said anything when we were walking, Hayner," Pence pointed out.

"Wait until I get my hands on him…"

"Hayner!" Olette cried, trying to steer him back to the original topic.

"Okay, okay. You know the word on the street about stuff that's been getting stolen, right? And now we're being shunned by the whole town! Even a freaking dog chased me yesterday! I have one word for you: Seifer."

Looking between an infuriated Hayner and a thoughtful Pence, Olette watched their interaction silently before turning her head to look at Roxas. It had been a few minutes since they entered their hangout, and Roxas hadn't said anything or moved very much since Hayner had plopped him down on his seat beside her. The blonde boy looked to be very deep in thought, and Olette couldn't help but watch him worriedly. He didn't look as bad as he did when they talked yesterday on the Clock Tower, but that didn't make it any easier for her. This was one reason why she wished Roxas would open up to her…to them…to anyone. She felt like more and more distance was being put between them, and she could tell they were slowly losing him.

When Hayner noticed that neither Olette nor Roxas had said anything, he crossed his arms and looked over at the pair. Olette was focused on Roxas, and Roxas looked completely zoned out. Tapping his foot upon the floor impatiently, Hayner made his way over to the fellow blonde and stood in front of him, bending down slightly to get a better look at his face. "_Roxas_! Are you _listening_?!" he yelled.

The shout had successfully gotten Roxas's attention, who suddenly sat up in his seat and leaned back when he noticed how close Hayner was. "Eh? Sorry…what?" he let out, taking a quick moment to look around. They were in the Usual Spot. When did they get there? Was he _that_ lost in thought?

"Gaaaaaah!" Hayner screamed, his whole body shaking in the fury he had towards Seifer rather than towards Roxas's lack of attentiveness. "I'm talking about how we're going to clear our names of these false accusations! Listen up!"

"Ah…" Roxas let out, making it sound like he knew exactly what they were talking about. A brief moment later, though, Roxas blinked and sat forward as Hayner moved from his spot in front of him to pace back and forth the length of the hangout. "False…accusations?" he repeated uncertainly.

"_E__xactly_," Hayner hissed, not catching the fact that Roxas had no clue what they were talking about.

Olette, who had let out a sigh of relief when Roxas came back to the living world, moved her attention towards Hayner, frowning slightly. "Honestly, Hayner, calm down a little!" she told him, knowing that his fiery reaction wouldn't be good for any of them, especially for himself and Roxas. _He'll give himself a heart attack from the pressure and give Roxas one, too, out of shocking him so soon after he snapped out of it._ Returning her gaze to Roxas, she smiled lightly when he turned to look at her. "Recently in town, there's been more and more fuss over thieves. You've heard about it, right?" she started, explaining the situation.

"But to say that we're the culprits!" Pence finished, looking like he was about to explode like Hayner. "It seems like Seifer's gang has been going around town spreading lies about us, according to Hayner."

"Really…" Roxas said slowly, taking all the information in. _Seifer again…_ Why was he not surprised that guy had something to do with their troubles? "Ah! So is that why…" he trailed off, looking at each of his friends, who nodded in return.

"The entire shopping district closed their doors on us just now," Pence finished, crossing his arms and leaning back slightly on the crate he sat upon.

"Maybe that's why the book store closed on me yesterday…" Olette said softly, and when she felt the boys' eyes on her, she continued. "After Roxas and I left the Clock Tower, I went to buy a textbook to do my homework, but it closed right as I was approaching. I thought maybe there was some kind of emergency, so they closed down early, but this…" At the time, she didn't think anything of it—she was able to buy the popsicles just a couple hours before, after all. To think things went downhill so quickly...

"It's totally connected!" Hayner said, making a fist and angrily punching it into his open palm. "We can't forgive those guys, right?! I understand that we've got a score to settle with them and everything, so if he wanted to think we did it, I couldn't really blame him. But to go around telling _everyone_ that we did it, and without any proof! That pisses me off! I'll beat the crap out of them! Prepare yourselves, guys, _prepare_!" Hayner yelled, his anger taking control once again.

Olette opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she couldn't find the words. Did Seifer really say that about them? _"I came here to apologize."_ That was what he had told her yesterday, and she didn't have the heart to believe he was apologizing beforehand for turning the entire Town against them. It wasn't as if she felt like the blonde boy owed her or anything, but she didn't want to believe Seifer would go so far and abuse his power that much. But what could she say to steer Hayner away from such a destructive path? Unconsciously, she turned towards Roxas for help, even though she knew he wanted to beat Seifer to a bloody pulp as much as their leader did...

Even though she knew he had enough problems of his own.

Roxas soon turned towards Olette, wanting to know how she felt about everything considering what happened between her and Seifer, and he was slightly surprised to see her already looking at him. He automatically noticed the pleading look in her eyes, and he sighed, looking up at the ceiling. He _did_want to get back at Seifer, so bad that there were no words to describe it, but maybe this was the wrong way to go about doing it. What if, by some miracle, they were as wrong about Seifer spreading the rumors as Seifer was about saying it was them? _I'll beat him fair and square, and show him how much better we are to him, who decided to go behind everyone's backs and do everything__._

"Um…" Roxas started uncertainly. Despite coming to the conclusion that he didn't want to beat up Seifer like this, he didn't exactly know what they should do instead. _Oh!_ "We could find out who the real culprit is instead…what do you think? Clearing our names and getting everyone off our backs should be our top priority, shouldn't it?"

It was as if someone had dumped cold water on Hayner and all of his steam slowly evaporated into the air as a result. "Mngh…well…really?" he said slowly, quietly, and uncertainly. Hayner was hoping, almost certain, that Roxas would back him up in his plan to confront and fight Seifer. And now that he wasn't, the blonde boy wasn't sure what he should be doing. Was it that wrong to go after Seifer right then and there?

"Hey, that sounds like fun!" Pence exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Let's find the real culprit and publicly reveal them to prove that we're innocent!" Excitedly, the ebony-haired teen ran over to grab his new camera that Olette had gotten him a few days ago.

Hayner remained silent, arms crossed and head bowed down in thought. "Mm…okay, let's go!" he eventually said, coming to like Roxas's idea, especially when Pence seconded it. Uncrossing his arms, he made his way towards the exit. "Everyone, come follow me!"

Roxas and Olette slowly stood up, and Olette held onto her right arm from behind her back as she turned to face him. "Thanks, Roxas," she said genuinely, and Roxas couldn't help but smile proudly. He might not have been able to beat up Seifer that day, but it was certainly worth it to be graced with Olette's smile.

"Get moving!" Hayner yelled from where he stood near the gate.

"Aaaah! Wait!" Pence shouted, and the three of them turned their heads towards him, watching as he frantically searched through something at the back of their hideout. "_Big_trouble! We've been robbed, too!"

"What?" Hayner let out exasperatedly, making his way back towards the group so that he was standing by Olette's other side.

"They're gone! Our –—– are gone!" Pence said desperately, though he slowly stopped his search as a new realization came to him. "What…?" Pence breathed out, bringing a hand to his throat. When he realized no one had said anything, Pence looked at them, blank faces staring back at him. "What's with your reactions? Say something!" he said, almost hysterical—he was one second from believing he was in a real life horror movie (which, had it been any other time, would have amused him greatly).

"…What did you say, Pence?" Hayner said slowly, his eyes narrowing as he took a step towards him. Surely he must've misheard the ebony-haired teen.

Taking in a deep breath, Pence tried again. "All our –—– are…" he trailed off as he found he couldn't say the word again. Roxas's and Olette's eyes widened, and Hayner walked all the way over to him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Are you messing with us, Pence?" Hayner said in a low, and almost dangerous, tone. He was never a fan of all those supernatural phenomenon Pence usually got excited about.

"What?" Pence said, shocked, before shaking his head. He moved towards the side slightly to show that they were missing all of their photos. "No! I'm not, see! Now, you try it!"

"Our –—– really aren't here…" Olette said dismally, before gasping and reaching a hand to her throat.

"We can't say it. The word –—–…" Roxas said, putting a hand on his hip when he realized even he was also affected.

"That's nonsense! –—–! –—–!" Hayner yelled, but nothing was coming out. Frustrated, he took his hand off of Pence to grab onto his head instead. "Aaah! What's going on? I can't say it! This is too freaky."

"Do you think…it's possible that the thief stole the word –—–, too?" Roxas suggested, lowering his hand back to his side when Hayner couldn't say it, either.

"That is a _fantastic_ idea! Could this be an supernatural phenomenon?" Pence said, serious in the fact that he really wished it was true, earning strange faces from all of his friends. Now that he realized he wasn't living a nightmare, the head-band wearing male was intrigued on how it was possible to wipe a word off the face of the planet.

"Really, Pence, you shouldn't be so happy about this," Olette scolded him.

"This isn't a fairy tale…" Hayner mumbled, feeling uncomfortable about having things out of his control, before closing his eyes and stuffing a hand in his pants pocket. "But that has to be some thief. Seifer could never have pulled this off even if he wanted to." His friends nodded in agreement, and he nodded as well, pulling his hand out of his pocket. "All right. Seifer and his gang might know something if they're investigating it. Although talking to those guys will piss me off, we better head to the Sandlot."

This time, when Hayner made his way out, Pence and Olette followed after him. Roxas moved to leave as well, but he stopped as he began to feel dizzy. "Huh?" Roxas managed to say before he fell and blacked out.

_'His heart is returning. It won't be long now.'_

Groaning, Roxas slowly regained consciousness. What was that? Now he was fainting and hearing voices? _What won't… be long now…_ Blinking before narrowing his eyes slightly, Roxas pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Roxas?"

Roxas nearly jumped at the voice, and looked to see that Olette had returned and was standing a few feet away from him. He hoped she hadn't seen him faint, for he didn't want to worry her even more.

If Olette did see anything, she never showed it. "C'mon, let's go," she said cheerfully, and Roxas nodded, walking beside her as they left the Usual Spot.

xoxoxoxox

"We've got so much reports it's overwhelming, y'know?"

Rai's words went through one ear and out the other for Seifer, who paced back and forth along the width of the room. In the back of his mind, a sarcastic remark about 'overwhelming' being the largest word he ever heard coming from Rai was made, but he was too focused on trying to sort out all the information in his head to dwell on it too much. Sure, they got a lot of people complaining about their stuff being stolen, and every one of them was saying Roxas took it, but none of them actually saw him or the rest of the gang take it. There was no proof, and all their words were hearsay. The whole town was practically thinking it, though. Should he, or rather could he, act on that alone? There'd be no one to go against him. And then there was Olette—

"Argh!" Seifer let out in frustration, hastily running his hand over the top of his beanie hat. "I can't think in this stuffy room. Let's move out to the Sandlot," he barked to the rest of his team. Fuu, Rai, and Vivi nodded, making their way over to the exit. Seifer soon followed behind them, but slowly came to a stop as he realized that the three of them had suddenly halted at the door. "Well? What is it? What are you three waiting for?" The trio looked back at him before moving off to the side to reveal the blonde girl that stood at the doorway.

"Luna…" the Committee leader muttered, bringing a hand to his forehead as he closed his eyes. He'd always figured he'd see her soon, especially when he had some things he wanted to talk to her about, but he never figured it'd be that soon—or rather, he never thought she'd be the one to initiate it. "Fuu, Rai, Vivi, you guys head to the Sandlot first. I'll catch up once I'm done here," Seifer ordered, figuring he might as well deal with one problem before he got knee-deep in another.

The three heeded the order without complaint, though Fuu gave Luna a suspicious look before leaving. Luna walked in freely with the three gone and out of the way, and she stared back at Seifer as he leaned against a table and stared right back at her. "So, what brings you here? Have another brilliant plan for me? Does it involve being trapped _above_ ground this time? The Clock Tower, perhaps? Because I _really_ couldn't get enough of being stuck underground."

Luna had expected that kind of reaction out of Seifer, and she closed her eyes to slowly let out her breath before focusing her cerulean gaze back on the fellow blonde. "No. I came to report having a –—– stolen from me yesterday…" The girl trailed off, looking around suspiciously as if wondering what had happened to steal the word away. "What…?"

"Yeah, you and every other person in this town. Apparently the word itself is gone, too," Seifer said lazily, though it really irked him. What kind of person had the power to steal the actual word from people, too? He sure knew that Hayner couldn't, unless he made himself believe that such idiotic things could really happen. That was what made the case so difficult for him to get his head around. Shaking his head free from having to think about it while he was still in the stuffy room, he raised an eyebrow impatiently as he noticed Luna was still there. "Is there something else?" He knew that there was, but where was the fun in letting it go so easily?

Luna knew that Seifer knew that she had something else to say, and she rolled her eyes and walked deeper into the room, taking a quick glance around before stopping a few feet in front of Seifer. "I wanted to say I'm sorry…_really_ sorry, about the other day." She wasn't able to look the boy in the face when she spoke, and felt her face heat up when she finished. The last thing she needed was to lift the ego of one of the most egotistic people she ever met. Resigning that it was her own fault that she was in such a position, though, she sighed. "I…forgot to tell you about the doors. My uncle usually locks the doors open when the Concourse officially opens, so I never thought about getting that key, too."

When she finally had the nerve to look at him, Seifer was giving her a 'you think?' look before moving his gaze away. "So, did your part go well, at least?" He looked back at her when silence answered him, and he found Luna staring at him, wondering what he meant. "Y'know, with lamer number two?"

"Oh, Roxas…" Luna said, giving Seifer a 'don't call Roxas a lamer' look. "Well, I got to spend some time alone with him, but that guy is hopeless. All he thought about was Olette."

"When someone's dying, that's bound to happen. Just a thought," Seifer offered sarcastically, now earning a 'don't remind me' look from the blonde girl. "But…no one died, thanks to you. So I guess I can't hate you. If you ever get another idea in that empty head of yours, though, don't come looking for me, got it?"

Luna frowned at him, but blinked when she realized what he said. "So…you're forgiving me?"

"Something like that," the boy replied simply.

Luna instantly brightened up at that, and she nodded and turned to leave, only to turn right back around and face Seifer. "…Do you…maybe want to have lunch with me sometime?" she asked shyly, scratching the back of her head absently.

"Huh?" was Seifer's brainless response. He raised a suspicious eyebrow at her, wondering if she was starting to like him now that Roxas virtually shunned her. He had no intention on being someone's rebound flunky, especially when Luna didn't even _go out_ with Roxas. Being someone's crush rebound was ten times worse than being someone's boyfriend rebound.

As if reading Seifer's mind, Luna found herself blushing again, though now for different reasons, and she shook her head in an effort to tell him otherwise. "To make it up to you, y'know? Saying I'm sorry really doesn't make it any easier knowing you could've died. It'll be free, all on me. No tip, too."

Seifer stared at her for a long moment before shrugging and getting to his feet. Well, if there were no strings attached, what did he care? No sane man refused a free meal. The saying that 'a way to a man's heart is through his stomach' wasn't completely false. "Whatever. I'll hold you to that free thing." Another smile spread across Luna's face and she nodded before hastily taking her leave. Shaking his head, Seifer took one last look around the hideout to make sure everything was in order before leaving to meet up with the others.

xoxoxoxox

Four pairs of eyes stared around the wall, giving them a clear view of the Sandlot. Pence was on the bottom, with Hayner and Roxas above him. Olette peeked from behind Pence and Hayner. They could see Fuu, Rai and Vivi near the bulletin board, but there was no sign of Seifer. Silently looking at each other wondering where the leader was, they returned their gaze forward, too concentrated on their task to notice the being approaching them from behind. Before they knew what hit them, Hayner, Roxas and Pence were on the ground, cringing from both the impact of the ground and the hit that sent them there. Olette, spared from Seifer's wrath, gasped as she stood behind the Committee leader as the beanie-wearing boy stood tall in front of the fallen boys.

"Why are you lamers sneaking around for, eh?" Seifer demanded before walking around them and making his way to his friends. "Hey, you guys," he called at them, his voice heavy with humor, "Looks like we've rooted out some sneak-thieves."

Hayner was the first on his feet, and he would've launched himself at Seifer if Roxas wasn't so quick on his feet to hold the camo-wearing boy back. _"__What did you say?!__"_ Hayner hissed venomously, fighting hard against Roxas's grip. He had forgotten that they weren't there to kill the man. Olette walked over to them and helped Pence up.

"Heh, nice comeback, blondie," Seifer teased, and he looked smug as Fuu, Rai and Vivi came to stand behind him, giving him unnecessarily back up. "What's wrong with calling sneak-thieves 'sneak-thieves'? _Sneak-thieves_."

"Robbers!" Fuu exclaimed, pointing a finger at the quartet.

"We won't forgive ya, y'know!" Rai said, holding up a fist. Vivi said nothing, merely adjusting his hat instead.

"You can't just run around calling people thieves 'cuz you feel like it!" Hayner yelled, struggling against Roxas again.

"Roxas," Seifer said simply, ignoring Hayner and focusing his attention on the other blonde. Roxas froze briefly when he was addressed before narrowing his eyes, unknowingly tightening his hold on Hayner, who was too angry to notice. Looking to his side briefly to make sure Olette was near him and safe, he returned his gaze to Seifer when he spoke again. "It was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers. So what did you do with it? Burn it? Not that we need some –—– to prove that you're losers. Every one can tell that by now."

Roxas suddenly let go of Hayner, who comically fell face first to the ground from the abrupt release. "Don't just go treating people like thieves whenever you feel like it, either," he responded coldly, sapphire eyes locking on with cobalt ones, both narrowing at the same time.

"Replay!" Fuu interjected, successfully breaking the stiff tension that came between the two groups.

Seifer laughed, liking the idea. "Sounds good." Smirking as he felt his group got into a stance, and as Hayner pulled himself to his feet to fight, too, Seifer threw a Struggle bat at Roxas, and the item landed a couple of feet in front of him. "Pick it up. I'll make you lay face first on the ground once more," Seifer commanded, before his smirk got even more arrogant. "Or you can get on your knees and beg. Maybe I'll let it slide, then."

Roxas looked back at him evenly, silent for a moment, before he moved closer to the gang, who all began to laugh at him. Seifer crossed his arms, his eyes happily watching as Roxas slowly dropped down to his knees.

"Roxas!" Hayner yelled out disbelievingly. He let it slide that Roxas suggested a different idea aside from beating up Seifer, but to go so far as to submit to their arch nemesis? That was ludicrous. He knew without a doubt that Roxas was feeling the same way he did. _Then why…_ Blinking as he realized what his best friend was planning, Hayner grabbed onto Olette's wrist and pulled her away, Pence soon following after the two. Before Fuu and the others knew what was going on, Roxas grabbed onto the bat and lunged at Seifer, who was able to bring his own bat up in a defensive block just in time. As the two held the position there, Fuu and the others left for safer ground as well.

"Do it, Roxas!" Hayner yelled from where he, Olette and Pence stood.

"Go for it, Seifer, y'know!" Rai shouted, seeing there was no need to hold back now that Roxas made the first move.

"I'll never willingly kneel to _you_," Roxas hissed, earning him a fierce glare from Seifer, who then pushed back on Roxas's bat and sprinted forward to deal his own attack. Roxas managed to block it, remembering that it was the way Seifer had fought all those days ago, but as Seifer continued his offensive onslaught, blocking was all Roxas managed to do.

"What's wrong? Quit playin' around and fight!" Seifer yelled, wondering what happened to the boy who was able to surprise him by attacking so silently just moments before. Roxas narrowed his eyes, but as Seifer's attacks continued, he was still only able to defend. Taking a hard hit across the chest, Roxas stumbled backwards but managed to stay on his feet. Seifer smirked and brought his bat up, ready to strike the final blow, but as he brought his bat down, Roxas brought his up, aiming for Seifer's hand instead of the bat itself.

Gasping in pain and surprise, Seifer watched as his bat went flying and closed his eyes as he heard it land several feet away. Roxas stretched his arm out, his bat mere centimeters from Seifer's chest. He breathed heavily as he stood there, wondering if he really was able to defeat Seifer, and tightened his grip on his bat as he mentally slapped himself. Of course he could defeat Seifer.

He just did.

Seifer breathed heavily as well, just as shocked as Roxas was, and he fell backwards, narrowing his eyes slightly as Fuu and Rai came to stand in front of him as if guarding him.

"Se-Seifer's not feelin' so hot, y'know?" Rai stuttered.

"Tournament decides!" Fuu agreed.

"Roxas!" Pence called, and Roxas turned around as Pence took the picture.

"Haha! That's too bad, Seifer!" Hayner taunted, making faces at the beanie-wearing boy. Pence smiled as he watched the photo come out, Seifer's face tense, but before anyone could even blink something white flashed by them, stealing the camera right out of Pence's hands with the photo still attached to it. The creature turned the corner and headed into the Tram Common.

"What was _that_?" Hayner exclaimed.

"Could that be the thief?" Olette wondered aloud.

"Which way did it go?" Pence asked as the four of them entered the Tram Common, losing track of the creature.

Sapphire eyes surveyed the area before they caught the creature heading through the hole in the wall. "There!" Roxas yelled, making his way towards it. Hayner and the others turned when he shouted, but as they moved to go after him they suddenly froze. Everything, in fact, seemed to freeze—even the birds flying in the sky.

Roxas was already too deep in the Woods to notice what had happened behind him, slowing only when he ended up in front of the abandoned house. "The haunted mansion…" he said softly, staring up at it before he froze. He was no longer looking up at the house, but face to face with the creature that had stolen Pence's camera. Afraid to even breathe, Roxas's eyes widened as words suddenly appeared in his mind.

'We have come for you, our liege.'

"Eh?" was all Roxas was able to let out before the creature before him opened its previously zippered mouth. "What the…Don't come any closer!" Roxas screamed as he backed up slightly, lashing out with the bat that was still in his hand. To his utter horror, the bat passed right through the creature_. __It didn't connect?_ "What the hell is this guy…?" Roxas muttered, taking another step back as he took a quick glance at the forest behind him. "Hayner…Pence…why aren't you guys coming?" Roxas cried before he stopped moving backwards, noticing even more of the white creatures appearing to surround him. Backing up so that he was in the center of them, thus neither too close or to far from one, Roxas breathed heavily, able to hear the pounding of his heart in his head.

_Could these guys be ghosts?_

As they lunged towards him, Roxas jumped, landing a few feet away. _There's too many of them!_ Narrowing his eyes and gripping his bat tighter as they came towards him again, Roxas swung, but once again it went right through them. "Tch…" _Just as I thought. There's no resistance!_ "Gah! What are Hayner and Pence doing?" Roxas yelled, frustrated, eyeing the creatures in front of him. _I should just run._ In a blink of an eye, Roxas was sprinting for the forest. It was futile, though, as the creatures created a chain and reached out for him, securing a hold on his leg. Crashing to the ground, Roxas cringed from the pain before trying to shake his leg free. "Let go—!" Roxas started, but froze as he watched the creatures begin to create a cage around him with themselves as the bars.

"H-hey!" Roxas yelled, aware at how much panic was settling into his voice. "Let me out, you…" He wasn't able to finish, as his sapphire eyes noticed a swirling dark portal appear behind him. "What is…?" Roxas whispered, feeling his blood run cold as his eyes lost themselves in the depths of the portal. It wasn't until he felt the creatures were moving backwards towards the portal with him in their cage that Roxas snapped out of it. "Hey wait a minute!" Roxas screamed, trying to hit the creatures with his bat but still proving unsuccessful. "Dammit…" he cursed as he was getting closer to the portal. Just as he thought he was going to die, a bright light temporarily blinded him as his bat began to glow, surrounded with swirls of data. Before he could even think, the creatures dropped him like he was a sack of potatoes, and he slowly sat up, eyes widening at the key that was now in his hands.

"What is this?" Roxas asked, though he knew no one would answer. It looked familiar… _Where have I seen this before…_ He wasn't given time to broad on it, though, as the giant key promptly forced him to his feet as it seemed to magnetically make its way towards one of the creatures, hitting and destroying it. _It connected!_ Gripping the handle of the key tightly, Roxas glared at the remaining creatures and attacked them all, releasing the fury he had towards them.

When the last of them disappeared, it seemed to rain photos as they all came showering around him. Roxas glanced up before the keyblade also disappeared in another swirl of data. Staring down at his now empty hand, Roxas began to pant heavily, moving his gaze to all the pictures that were littered around him.

xoxoxoxox

"Dude, are you okay? You look horrible."

Roxas gave a half-lidded stare at Hayner, who said the comment, as he walked back into the Usual Spot, carrying all the photos that were dropped, plus Pence's camera. "Yeah, no thanks to you," Roxas muttered back as Pence and Olette got to their feet and met up with him half way. "Where were you guys?" he added, almost desperately, fighting back the tears he was never able to shed when he was fighting for his life back at the Old Mansion.

"Where were _we_?" Hayner repeated, upset Roxas could ask them that so accusingly. "Where were _you_? One second you were yelling you saw the thief and then the next you're no where in sight."

"What?" Roxas let out exasperatedly, wondering how Hayner could turn it back on him. _That doesn't make sense…I know I didn't leave that fast…_ He blinked as he felt a cool cloth gently streak across his face, and Roxas blushed when he saw that Olette had gone and wet a towel and was helping wipe his face of the sweat that accumulated there. She smiled shyly at him as a way to say she was sorry, and Roxas smiled and nodded, accepting the silent apology.

"We're really sorry we couldn't find you, Roxas," Pence apologized, genuinely sorry as he watched Roxas being helped by Olette. "We never wanted to leave you to fight the thief on your own."

Shaking his head, Roxas smiled at Hayner and Pence, placing the photos and cameras Pence's hands. "Nah, it's all right. What matters is that we got the photos back, right?" The other three gasped, and Roxas brought a hand up to his throat. "Ah, I can say it…"

"The word is back, too!" Pence exclaimed, and soon Hayner and Pence smiled and nodded back to agree with Roxas's previously stated words. Pence moved to place the camera down and shift through the pictures to take out all the ones that belonged to them.

Finishing cleaning off Roxas's face, Olette washed the cloth out before moving over to help Pence. She placed their prized photos of them in front of the haunted house during the festival and the other of them at the beach from the year before, in their respected frames, holding it out in front of her before placing them down.

"Tada! It's been restored!" Olette stated, smiling warmly as the others came to crowd around her to take a look at their pictures. "I'm glad that we were able to return it just the way it was. After all, they're photos of our precious memories…"

Hayner reached out to flip through the remaining photos. "So, Roxas, tell us about the picture thief," he said, continuing to go through the pictures to check they were in good condition.

"Eh? You all saw, didn't you?" Roxas said, confused. "It took the camera and ran off! It wasn't human, right? I thought it was a ghost at first, and none of you came, and I…It seemed like they were trying to take me off to some weird place, and…"

"Roxas," Hayner said sternly, walking to stand toe to toe to the fellow blonde and sticking his face mere inches away from Roxas's. "_You're not scaring me_," he continued, though he looked and sounded rather scared.

"No, I'm not _trying_ to scare you, but..." Roxas said, matching Hayner's expression and tone.

"Hey, guys! If we're going to talk about scary stories…!" Pence interjected happily, met with expressions that read 'no way in hell' from Hayner, Roxas and Olette. They had had enough craziness to last several days.

Hayner waved off both Roxas's explanation and Pence's idea, returning his attention on the photos. "If you don't know, Roxas, you should just say so. Although we won't be able to prove _we_ weren't the ones who took them…"

_Ah, I should've realized the story was too much for them to believe me,_ Roxas thought solemnly, though he stole a quick glance at Olette, who hadn't said anything about the matter. _I wonder if I would even believe myself if I didn't experience it personally…but maybe it's a good thing I didn't tell them about what's been bothering me._

"Oh, it's a _girl_," Hayner said teasingly, as if Olette wasn't one, causing his three friends to instantly surround around him. Staring back at him was the picture Luna asked someone to take for her the day he worked at the diner to buy Olette's gift. Roxas instantly stiffened, and Olette looked down for a moment, and for once, Roxas caught it.

_So is this…why he can't like me back…?_ The smiling face of Roxas was like a sharp knife to the center of her heart. "You look happy, Roxas," Olette said in a similar teasing tone as Hayner's, though her's had a hint of bitterness and sadness, surprising herself at how the words didn't sound as forced as they were.

Sapphire eyes widened for a fraction of a second. _Olette…_ Did that mean she didn't care, because she didn't like him back? Or was he not the only one good at hiding things? Roxas stared down at the picture. He didn't mean to smile, not that widely, that happily, as if he smiling at the company with him. He was just so happy that he was able to get enough munny to get Olette's gift… "Do not," Roxas replied sternly, annoyingly, almost defensively, though not defending what the brunette girl believed he was.

Finishing looking through the photos, Hayner piled them all together and hit them into the palm of his hand a couple of times. "This sure was a strange incident, huh?"

"The only things stolen from anyone in town _were_ photographs," Olette agreed, glad they were off the topic of Luna.

"What a weird thief," Hayner muttered, watching as Pence took the stack of photos from his hand.

"So, like, anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of _Roxas_?" he asked.

"So _that's_ why everyone thought we stole them," Olette exclaimed, bringing a hand to her chin.

"So Seifer really didn't go around accusing us after all?" Hayner asked, though it was rhetorical, looking as if someone had told him he could no longer consume sea salt ice cream. Seifer wasn't the one to blame for once? All his anger was for nothing?

"Are…they really all of me?" Roxas asked uncertainly, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Yep, every single one," Pence replied, fanning out the photos he took from Hayner. Indeed, they were all of him. Roxas could make out some of the more recent ones, like the one with Luna, or the one he took in front of the skateboard store with the new shopkeeper. And then there were older ones, of him sitting in class at school, or the one in front of the sea salt ice cream stand. "The culprit was a stalker wanting to steal the real Roxas!"

"Eh?" Hayner, Roxas, and Olette exclaimed, and Roxas watched in horror as Hayner and Olette began to contemplate the validity of the claim.

"Well, they _are_ all of you…maybe what you said earlier was right," Hayner said slowly, bringing a hand to wrap around his chin in thought. "No one's been going through your trash or anything, right?"

Olette shivered, wrapping her arms around herself in a tight hug. "You should be sure to close your curtains all the way," she advised him.

"There could be a wiretap under your TV or something…" Pence added, though he sounded more giddy about it than the other two.

"You guys are _horrible_!" Roxas yelled as his friends laughed, bending forward slightly as Hayner wrapped an arm around his neck.

"C'mon, get serious. Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?" Hayner said, driving off the fear that had gripped them all just as it did when Roxas was explaining the thief to them. Roxas might have doubted them, but they were his friends, and they did believe him. Only…they were afraid to admit it, as that would be admitting that they could be in danger of losing their close friend.

"Oh, thanks," Roxas muttered as he tried to free himself, bringing about another wave of laughs out of all of them. The Clock Tower bell suddenly rang, and the train passed overhead, causing the four of them to look up, knowing what time it was by those two actions alone.

"It's getting late. We better return these photos and then go home," Hayner said as he released Roxas, and the three of them nodded. Splitting up the number of photos, they all headed out together, returning the photos to their respected owners. There were a flood of 'thank you', and 'I'm sorry I blamed you', going around as they handed them back, and they all accepted it graciously. Near the end of it, there were only three photos left to return—Seifer's, Luna's, and the owner of the ice cream stand. The latter was purposefully left towards the end, and the four of them all ordered some sea salt popsicles as they handed the photo back, earning them free ice cream.

As if on cue, Seifer's gang was approaching, on their way for their own ice cream. As they neared, the group stopped, and both groups stared back at each other for a moment. Reluctantly, Roxas gripped the photo that belonged to them and took a couple steps forward, holding the picture out towards Seifer. "We found it, though I doubt you'll believe we didn't take them. I hope you accept our apologizes," Roxas said through gritted teeth, taking steps backward to rejoin his group as Seifer reclaimed his property.

Seifer surprisingly didn't look as pleased as they thought he would. The committee leader could feel several pairs of eyes on him—the townspeople held no grudge against Roxas or the others, especially when he returned their photos to them so nicely despite the treatment they were getting. To top it off, they returned the photo that so clearly showed their defeat. Seifer would look like the terrible one if he still planned on prosecuting them for the case. "Don't be silly," Seifer replied in equally forced words, surprised he didn't stutter in saying it. "And, don't worry—you guys won't be charged for anything. There's no case against you."

The Tram Common seemed to erupt in cheers, and the four of them smiled as everything was right in the world again. Waving at everyone who patted them on the back, the group weaved through the crowds on their way to the diner, their last stop. Hayner and Pence stopped several feet away, not wanting to get in the way of 'whatever was going on' between him and Luna, though they really just wanted to attend to their ice cream more. Olette ended up walking with Roxas up to the doors, where she hesitated and stopped.

"I…think you should go in on your own, Roxas," Olette said softly, stealing a glance inside before resting her gaze on Roxas, who looked at her almost worriedly. "I'll be…we'll be…out here waiting for you, okay? And…try to go easy on her, will you?" she added quietly. Olette knew that Luna liked Roxas, if her plan to separate her and Roxas wasn't proof enough of that, and though she wasn't sure how Roxas felt about Luna, it was never easy to see the one you liked being mad at you.

Roxas stared at her for a moment longer before smiling gently and nodding. Squeezing Olette's arm lightly, he opened the door of the diner and stepped in. Sapphire eyes scanned the moderately busy establishment before he came to a stop at the counter.

"Ah, welcome! I'll be right with…you…" Luna started enthusiastically when her back facing him, slowly losing the juice in her voice as she came face to face with Roxas. "Roxas…" Luna whispered, looking around nervously before blinking as Roxas held out her photo. "Oh, you found it…thank you," she said, taking the picture and holding it to her heart.

Roxas shifted uncomfortably where he stood from Luna's action, looking away for a moment. He knew that returning the photo wasn't the only reason he was there, and why Olette made him come in alone. But how was he supposed to bring it up? "I…"

"I…"

Both of them stopped when the found they were speaking at the same time, both of them blushing out of embarrassment. Roxas looked back at her and nodded, figuring he should let the lady speak first, as Olette did yesterday.

Swallowing, Luna nodded, understanding that she had the floor. "Um…I want to apologize to Olette first…" she trailed off as she found Olette and the others standing outside the diner. "But I guess since I can't…I can trust you to relay the message, right?" Roxas closed his eyes and nodded, wondering if he should explain that Olette didn't come it out of hatred towards her, but decided that Luna had to realize that on her own, or approach Olette personally, and stayed silent.

"There's no way I can say I'm sorry to you enough times, for what I did was…_really_ horrible," Luna choked out, bringing a hand to her mouth as her eyes began to water against her wishes. "Olette could've…" she stopped herself from continuing as she saw Roxas tense at her words, and turned her head away slightly. "I don't expect you to automatically forgive me, and even if you say you do, I won't take your words to heart, for something like this shouldn't be swept under the rug like it was nothing, because it wasn't. I just hope that someday you'll be able to, even if just a fraction of a bit, and that I'll be able to become something as big as an acquaintance to you."

There was a lengthy silence that came between them, in which Luna was wringing the washcloth she held in her hand from just finishing cleaning the countertops when Roxas came in. Slowly, Roxas opened his eyes again, and a small, sad, smile came to his lips.

"I am angry…my _close_ friend could've _died_ because of your and Seifer's selfish plans. And I'm still not even sure what the purpose of all of it was," he admitted bitterly, the tiny smile disappearing for a moment before returning again. "And then I realize…that as much as I'm angry at you, and at Seifer, I'm really…angry at myself the most. _I_ hurt Olette first that day…me. I never want to hurt her…yet I did. I allowed us to be separated, allowed your plot to have a chance to succeed. And if it wasn't for you…if you didn't find them and save her…" Roxas made a fist with his hand, unable to keep it from shaking from the bottled emotions he kept within him. "I would have never had the chance to tell her how sorry I was…" _F__or everything…_

"Roxas…" Luna whispered again as the boy bent over the counter, his other hand forming into a fist, too.

"I guess…I want to thank you for that, at least, Luna…" Roxas continued, his voice slightly muffled as he was talking to the counter now. Eventually, he did lift his head to look up at her. "Let's work slowly at becoming acquaintances, okay?"

Whoever thought one could be so happy to hear such dreary words?

Luna's face lit up and she nodded, and Roxas smiled more happily as the two shook hands with each other. Standing up, Roxas made his way outside, where Olette handed him his now dripping popsicle. She smiled at him, giving him a 'don't worry about it' look when he noticed the mess it made in her hands, and the four them began to walk home, the other three long since done their cold treats. Olette, nor any of the others, asked him how it went in there, knowing it was something private, and Roxas was happy they had that unspoken feeling between them.

"Okay, we'll meet again tomorrow!" Hayner said when they reached the crossroads where they went their separate ways home, though it was a waste of breath as such a thing was obvious to them all. Still, they replied just as uselessly.

"You got it!" Pence said as he waved Hayner off, who went in one direction.

"See you!" Olette called happily, waving at Roxas as she and Pence went another way.

Roxas silently waved back to all of them, soon lifting the hand up to block the rays of the sun, which seemed unusually bright all of a sudden.

'_Where...am I?'_ a voice suddenly spoke out in his head, and Roxas blinked, trying to see where it had come from through the glare of the sun.

"Who's there?" Roxas asked uncertainly, though he knew he heard that voice somewhere before.

'_Who are you?'_

_Restoration at 12%._

Five more days until complete memory restoration.

* * *

**author' s notes:** Axel and Naminé are _insanely_ angst-y and emo in the novel. I hope I did all the characters all right from the Organization… I wonder if any of you can tell what Naminé's up to, or if any pieces are starting to come together concerning the Order (and specifically Axel) and the TT Gang, especially in regards to one of Roxas's dreams.

I'm not sure how I like the way I'm doing to dreams from the game. They only last a couple pages in the manga compared to a couple of minutes in the game, but some of it I may reference or something, so…if you guys like the way it is, I guess I'll continue as it is. Or maybe I should just pick certain scenes and describe it more lengthy like all the dreams in the previous chapters… -rattles her brains-

I _really_ love the way the manga deals with the photo thief day. All the stuff that I made happen to Olette and Hayner actually all only happen to Roxas. Roxas really gets picked on in the manga when he's suspected for being the thief. And Pence is not the little innocent boy I thought he was when I played the game. That boy is one interesting kid in the manga xDD And Hayner has insane facial expressions, I love it.

I also loved the Roxette that was involved in the first chapter. Sorry there wasn't any Namiku this chapter. Not only that, but I loved all the little things that went on with the fight against the Dusks and later when Roxas returned. It was nice to learn that Hayner and the others were actually frozen, which is why they didn't help, and that Roxas was waiting for them, and that Roxas actually told them about almost being kidnapped. If you haven't noticed, I just love the manga xDD

I haven't said it in a while, but I hope you all ** review**! –points towards the button at the corner of the page- Especially concerning the matters I addressed earlier. Thanks to all who continue to review as well You guys keep me on track.


	10. Can You Feel Sora?

** author' s notes:** So, yeah…I should really stop saying that I hope the updates won't take months, because it's like a jinx it or something xDD Gomennasai, minna-san, for expecting uber fast updates. I wish I could update as fast as I imagine I do in my mind. I guess I could blame it on working full-time during the summer, or getting all four of my wisdom teeth out, but that's such an easy way out xD

Anywhoo, I recently saw the first volume of the KH II Manga in a store. I wasn't able to buy it, but I'm assuming that some of you may have also seen it and have it. Do any of you know how many volumes are out and how far the volumes go? I'm really quite interested ^^

Getting down to business, the main thing I really want to get across with this chapter is the reason WHY Riku asked Roxas that mysterious question in the game. Even in the manga I believe it's still a little unknown. Only the novel really gives a bit of a glimpse behind the reason why. I hope you all enjoy it!

As well, I fixed the little mix-up that Toxo mentioned a long, long time ago xD Thanks again! I really need a beta reader or something, because every time I try to reread my chapters I don't catch things like that. It all works out in my head xDD So if anyone's interested, drop me a line!

And P.S. pinkxxscene – Yes, I can see where Seifer x Olette is coming from xD I'm beginning to like it myself, though of course not as much as Roxette!

* * *

**Chapter X:** Can You Feel Sora?

_He_ really did do a decent job in creating the false world.

Well, according to his research, the world wasn't complete, probably to keep _them_out, since he had a hard enough time securing the line he did have, but what he saw was perfect, if anything could be as such. If he hadn't seen the real world with his own eyes or wasn't aware that he entered the world through a computer, he was sure he would've been fooled into thinking it was real. The buildings were placed exactly where they should be, right to the very millimeter, the eternal sun was the same brilliant colors that had always left him breathless, and the humidity was just right that he was craving a certain salty treat in order to alleviate the heat.

But amongst the slight amazement was a stronger feeling of frustration and anger— frustrated by the fact that his partner was fooled by such a world, and angry at the people who reduced him to a level in which he would be fooled.

As if on cue, numerous mysterious white beings, the same creatures Olette had seen in the forest during the festival a few days ago, and the same ones who had stolen Pence's camera just the day before, suddenly began to gather around the cloaked being that miraculously stood at the top of a pointy rooftop. The man seemed to perk up at their appearance, but the feeling soon disappeared as they dropped something into his hand and continued dancing in the air around him.

"Really, you guys…" Axel muttered displeasingly as his emerald gaze took in the images of Roxas in the photographs he was given. One of them was when he was at school for heaven's sake. Although he was happy that his best friend was able to live the way he wanted, he soon became angry once more. How long was his partner in this _fake_ world, living this_fake_ life? He had sent the Nobodies into the world a few days ago to locate and bring him Roxas, and had finally managed to enter himself, but all that effort was getting him nowhere. Was it possible that _he_ knew he was there? "What am I supposed to do with these pictures you brought me?"

In a flash, the photos were turned into ash as he set them fire, opening his hand to allow the wind to blow the pieces away. The last thing Axel needed was a bunch of fake photos freezing in time a bunch of fake memories. He wouldn't rest until he found the real Roxas, no matter how much obstacles _he_ put in his way. "Well then…" he whispered as he lowered his hand and looked back out at the scenery before him.

"Where could he be? The real thing."

xoxoxoxox

"It seems like _they_ are also becoming desperate."

Riku had just walked into the computer room, and that must've prompted DiZ to speak as soon as the door had automatically closed, though how the man knew it was him and not Naminé was beyond him. Pushing aside the pointless and unimportant question, Riku stepped forward until he was standing next to DiZ, looking at the screens to see what the man meant by his statement.

"But I will not allow them to snatch _it_ away from us so easily," DiZ continued when Riku unsurprisingly failed to speak, though knowing what kind of person DiZ was, he would have went on even if Riku had said something, cutting him off even. DiZ noticed something was off that day after the festival when he found some irregular data patterns. Someone must've fooled around in his network, and he had a good idea who it might've been. "That's the reason why we scattered pictures of Roxas throughout the town."

_'It'?_ Riku repeated inwardly, almost appallingly, knowing that DiZ meant Roxas. How many times had the red bandaged man refer to Roxas as 'it' over the past few months? Although he was still fuming about what happened two days ago, Riku would never be so upset at Roxas as to call the blonde boy a thing, as if he wasn't a person. Roxas was connected Sora, as much as it pained him to admit. That was more than enough proof to him that Roxas was not an 'it', but a living, breathing, person. It was what agonized him so.

Unwilling to allow himself to get so emotional over his best friend again so soon after his spat with Naminé, Riku forced himself to let the word slide and focus on the other words said instead. _So _that _was why we were throwing those photos all over the place yesterday. To fool them. But…_ "It's like the Nobodies can't make the distinction between that and the real thing…" Riku finished his thought aloud, glancing down at the extra photos that were spread out on one of the unused keyboards. He was surprised such an elementary trick would actually work.

DiZ snorted out a laugh at this. "Because to them, both appear to be the same 'Roxas'. Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference." The smug smile that had planted itself on his face quickly disappeared as both his and Riku's eyes fell upon the screen that showed footage of several Nobodies floating around a redheaded, black-cloaked being atop the pointed roof of a building. Curling a hand into a fist, DiZ pounded down on the keyboard in front of him, causing the photos to scatter to the floor.

"Damn XIII Order," he hissed. "He thinks he can behave however he likes in this realm. This redheaded man." Eventually regaining his composure, DiZ sat up straighter and glanced at Riku from the corner of his eye. "Don't take your eyes off Roxas for a moment."

Riku visibly tensed at the order. Just because he didn't hate the kid didn't mean he'd jump at the chance to be his personal bodyguard, either. Telling himself that it was all for Sora, Riku managed to relax and accept the task. "…All right," he replied shortly.

Noticing Riku's change in stature, a smirked found its way onto DiZ's lips. It was always interesting to poke fun at this one, he decided. "Those clothes suit you," he added nonchalantly, moving into completely an off-topic and highly guarded area.

As expected, the comment got a bad reaction, and amber eyes quickly narrowed to throw a glare at the man sitting beside him. "Stop it." It wasn't a request, but an order, and the unnaturally deep voice that didn't belong to him helped reinforce that. "I'm not wearing this because I want to."

DiZ couldn't help but let out another laugh. "That's true," he agreed, and decided to leave the topic at that for now. As much as it was entertaining to have those kinds of conversations with Riku, he didn't want to go so far as to have to deal with an infuriated sixteen-year-old. For a kid, he would be a tough opponent if he had to fight him. "At any rate, the awakening won't be long now it seems...But we're running out of time. Naminé must make haste."

Outside the door to the computer room stood Naminé, who had come to eavesdrop on the pair when she saw Riku enter it. She was hoping she'd be able to speak with him today, since she wasn't able to yesterday, but DiZ was really starting to work him hard now that the time of Sora's awakening was steadily approaching. Although she couldn't hear much, considering how thick and reinforced the door was, she could tell that the time to take the next step in her plan was steadily approaching.

She'd have to meet with Roxas soon.

xoxoxoxox

If it wasn't for the sparkling array of stars that could clearly be seen in the dark blanket of the night sky, the eternal darkness of Traverse Town might have been a bit depressing. At a back alley of this world lay Sora, who was awakened by a single lick from a golden-furred dog. Groaning, Sora allowed his sapphire gaze to fall upon the panting dog before he pushed himself up on his feet. _"Oh…Where am I?"_ he asked aloud as he looked around the unfamiliar town.

** Static.**

Panic now flooded into Sora as he raced into the Second District. _"What happened to my home? My island?"_ The memories of his home possibly being destroyed came back to him, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as the same mysterious black beings began to appear all around him. Without even realizing it, the keyblade had materialized in his hands, ready to dish out pain. _"Riku! Kai—"_

**A fuzzy image of the redhead girl flashed by.**

_"Who are you?"_Sora exclaimed as he turned to face the shaggy brunette male that suddenly appeared behind him, his face hidden from his view.

_"They will come at you out of nowhere, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade,"_ the man said, lifting his hand a pointing a finger to the strangely shaped weapon Sora was still holding.

**Coding.**

From the warm glowing light in front of him, two beings shot up into the air, heading straight for Sora. Realizing this, Sora tried to make a run from it, but unfortunately he wasn't fast enough as the dog- and duck-like creatures landed right on top of him.

**Fizzle, fizzle, crack.**

_"Hey, why don't you come with us?"_ the dog-like creature offered. _"We can go to other worlds on our vessel."_

The duck looked up at Sora expectantly as he thought over their words. It seemed like a good idea, but…he _did_ just meet these people, even though he could feel their intentions were good. He had to listen to what his mother told him every once in a while, right?

_"Sora, go with them,"_ a deep male voice said, and Sora turned to face the brunette he had met earlier, who was now joined with a smaller dark-haired female. _"Especially if you want to find your friends,"_ he added, and that alone struck a cord within him. Sora would have done anything to find the ones precious to him.

**Brief static.**

_"Donald Duck,"_ the duck introduced himself, holding up a hand straight out in front of him.

_"Name's Goofy,"_ the dog-like creature said next, holding up his hand to place on top of his friend's own.

A faint smile made its way to Sora's lips. _"I'm Sora,"_ he replied before standing straight from his slightly crouched position to place his hand atop both of theirs.

"_I'll go with you guys."_

**A fuzzy image of the redhead girl appears again.**

"_The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade,"_ the ever-growing familiar male voice of the brunette spoke as Sora looked down at the weapon lying on his lap.

**Fizzle.**

"_That's right,"_ a lighter brunette woman affirmed, dressed all in pink as she sat on a nearby bed. _"The Keyblade."_

"_So…this is the key?"_ Sora asked slowly to make sure he understood them, holding the item out in front of him.

**Static.**

"_But the boy is a problem."_ It was a new voice now. The owner of the voice was never shown as Sora lifted the Keyblade towards a large keyhole in front of him, but it was clear that it was sinister and did not mean good things for anyone.

"_He found one of the Keyholes."_

xoxoxoxox

Sora's home world being destroyed.

"_You understand nothing."_

**The Old Mansion.**

'_We have come for you, our liege.'_

The black creatures, the 'Heartless', that were attacking Sora.

"_They will come at you out of nowhere."_

**The white creatures that attacked yesterday.**

"_As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."_

_Keyblade…?_

**The weapon both he and Sora wielded.**

A sharp intake of breath cut into the previous silence that had enveloped Roxas's room as the blonde suddenly jerked up into a sitting position on his bed. Breathing heavily, sapphire eyes looked down to the shaking hand he held out in front of him before blinking and taking in the surroundings of his bedroom as if it was foreign to him.

"When did I get back…?" he whispered to himself, completely confused. The last thing he remembered was hearing that voice in his head when he was walking home yesterday, and now he was here, in his room the next morning. _How did that happen?_

Shaking his head, Roxas looked back down at his now steady hand as the remnants of his dream pushed aside those thoughts. "Key…blade…" he repeated, the words having a strange sense of familiarity in his mouth. Is that what that weapon he used yesterday was called? The one Sora used? _A keyblade?_ And now that he thought about it some more, he and Sora had a lot in common, assuming that Sora was, in fact, a real and separate entity. They were both attacked by a bunch of strange creatures. _Were those white creatures called 'Heartless' too?_ Their friends were similar. They both had crushes on…

Roxas closed his eyes tightly and willed away the blush that was swiftly taking over his cheeks as he thought about Olette. As the embarrassing moment passed, though, a more sickening feeling overtook him. Did that mean Twilight Town would be destroyed, too, like Sora's world was? Did Sora ever manage to save his world? Was this Keyblade a big part of it? Roxas didn't exactly want to have to go through more dreams to come to an answer. Those dreams weren't exactly something he'd classify as a blast, and he didn't exactly have enough time to wait around for them if his world really was going to be obliterated. Was _this_ the purpose to everything that was happening to him and his friends? Somehow, whenever he tried to figure out the reason behind everything that has been going on lately, he has been coming up with more and more worse scenarios as the days passed. At this rate, he was almost afraid of what he'd come up with next.

"Man, what I would do to meet you, Sora…" Roxas whispered, moving his gaze to the eternal warm sky outside his window.

Surely Sora would have the answer.

xoxoxoxox

"Come out! Come out~!"

Swishing noises accompanied Roxas's shouts as he swung a stick that he had found leaning against the wall near his house through the air as he walked towards the usual hangout of his friends. He was hoping to see if he could summon that weapon again, but…

"It won't work, I guess…" Roxas said quietly to himself, cutting the air with the stick again, though still nothing happened. "Keyblade…huh?" What did it take to make that thing appear? Be in a life-and-death situation again? The foam bat used in the Struggle? Being in front of the Old Mansion? Roxas shook his head as he lowered his arm and looked down at the stick. He was definitely losing it. Was it sane to think that any of it was true? _Sure, the 'Keyblade' was real and all yesterday, but nothing is fitting together._

"What was that all about?" he muttered, becoming frustrated with both himself and the dreams that only seemed to complicate things. Without another look at the stick, Roxas closed his eyes and threw it behind him, lifting his leg to continue walking forward. When he heard a dull 'thud' before the stick hit the ground, though, Roxas turned around and immediately froze on the spot when he realized he hit someone decked entirely in black. "Ah!" Roxas squeaked, panicking. After having the whole town hate him and his friends just the day before, he did _not_ want to upset anyone and be ostracized again. "I'm…sorry…about that…" he struggled to get out.

While Roxas was too preoccupied trying not to be hated that he couldn't even begin to even notice the similarities between how the person dressed and the cloaked beings in his dreams, Riku, the person who he hit, was staring down the blonde for a completely different reason. Ever since he started watching Roxas, which only began a while ago before the boy woke up, Riku had been growing increasingly infuriated…and curious. Going by what he gathered from the conversations Naminé and DiZ had, he assumed the sudden jolt Roxas had when he awakened was due to his 'dreams', which were really Sora's memories.

Questions that had always plagued the back of his mind began to resurface, hitting him especially hard when he saw Roxas begin to swing the sword around. It brought back his own memories of watching Sora practice with the wooden sword, all so he could try and defeat him when they sword fought against each other. The similarities between the two of them were uncanny. Was this how Roxas really was? Was Sora affecting him in some way? If Naminé were unable to bring back Sora, would his best friend continue living through Roxas, _in_ Roxas? Or would Sora be lost forever… Unable to handle the direction his mind was heading, never mind the fact that he was seen, Riku completely ignored the younger male and turned around without a word, walking away.

Noticing the person walking away without acknowledging him whatsoever, Roxas stopped trying to talk normally and stood there in a mix of awe and shock as he stood alone now on the street. What did this mean? Was that a way of saying he was off the hook, that his apology was accepted? Or was that a warning of many terrible things to come? Figuring he couldn't do anything about it either way, Roxas sighed and continued the short distance towards the Usual Spot.

xoxoxoxox

"Oh! You're laaaaate, Roxas!" Hayner yelled when the other blonde walked into their hideout, bringing the sea salt ice cream back to his mouth as soon as he had uttered the words.

Laughing nervously, Roxas lifted a hand to rub the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry!" he apologized, all of his troubles disappearing momentarily now that he was in the presence of his friends.

"Here, this one's yours, Roxas," Olette said as she held out an extra popsicle towards him. Blinking in confusion, sapphire eyes scanned across the room and took in the fact that all three of them had just started eating the icy treat. Surprisingly and strangely relieved that they didn't forget about him, Roxas blushed slightly as he freed the brunette of the ice cream.

"Thanks," he replied before sitting down in his seat beside her.

A calm and comfortable silence fell upon the quartet as they ate together, and it continued on for a few moments before Pence suddenly spoke up.

"This must be what they call the little joys," Pence said suddenly, actually taking a moment to stop eating and just sit there, soaking up the intangible, peaceful feeling.

"Hn?" Hayner let out from the side of his mouth, unwilling to move the ice cream away to speak normally as he looked at the ebony-haired male curiously from the corner of his eyes.

"Everyone eating ice cream together like this," the headband-wearing boy explained more clearly.

Hayner snorted at this, turning to face Pence more fully. "Anytime Pence is eating is a happy time for him, though," he replied in a half-teasing, half-serious tone as he moved his gaze to look at Roxas and Olette for agreement.

Before the pair could either agree or disagree, Pence's hand twitched around the stick of his popsicle, and he turned to face the leader of their group more fully as well. "I'm trying to have a nice moment here!" he yelled, partially angry because what Hayner said was half-true. Closing his eyes to take a deep breath and let the anger run through his system, something he did quite often and the reason why he rarely lost his cool unlike a certain someone, Pence reopened his chocolate brown eyes, a sort of dreamy look in them.

"If we could stay like this, with everyone together, forever, I think that would be nice…That's what I'm saying," he tried explaining again, making sure that it was clear that food had nothing to do with it.

"Not gonna happen," Hayner deadpanned without missing a beat, a very disbelieving look in his eyes countering the one in his friend's as he finished his ice cream first.

"What?!" Pence screamed, almost choking on his popsicle. Even Roxas and Olette, though not saying anything, internally agreed that they would have loved what Pence had suggested, and were equally shocked that Hayner would kill such dreams without an ounce of doubt. They thought that Hayner of all people would jump on the sappy bandwagon, not single-handedly derail it.

"'Cause even the situation will change," Hayner started, a somber and slightly regretful expression now dominating his facial features as he stared out at in front of him, not focusing on anything in particular. "When we grow up, we'll have to eventually give up meeting like this everyday."

Unlike before, an uncomfortable silence encompassed them all now as they each took in Hayner's words. All Roxas could think of when Hayner said that everything would change was Twilight Town being destroyed like Sora's world was. They couldn't be together forever if they were all dead, right…? Luckily, before he could dwell too much on that depressing thought, Pence had broken the silence once again.

"When you put it that way, it sounds really lonely, doesn't it?" A playful yet believable dejected expression was on Pence's face as he finished his popsicle. "I wouldn't have expected something so cold from Hayner…"

Getting out of his rare serious mode, Hayner sat straight up and froze at Pence's words, an alarmed look on his face. "No, I was…" he stammered. He didn't mean to become the bad guy. Truthfully, he would've liked to be with them forever, too, but life just wasn't like that. Maybe his fall-out with Seifer had affected him more than he realized. "What's important isn't how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other. Right?" He tried again, a hopeful and apologetic look in his eyes as he looked at his friends.

Low doubtful sounds of agreement sounded from Roxas and Olette, already too depressed to be elated enough by the fact that they'd only be able to rely on their memories later on. After the talk they all had together on Sunset Hill, it made it clear that memories weren't exactly the most stable thing in the world. _But if we see each other once in a while, and think of each other, we can somehow meet if we do separate and make new memories…surely._

Pence seemed to be the only one who outwardly got past everything. He was laughing, though it wasn't clear if he was trying to break up Hayner's nice moment in retaliation for messing up his. "Get that off a fortune cookie?" he teased.

Groaning in frustration, Hayner grabbed a fistful of his blonde hair. "That's it, no more ice cream for you!" he yelled at Pence. If it wasn't for him and his comment, then Hayner wouldn't have made things worse and they'd still be on a sugar high. A light bulb suddenly went off in his head, and Hayner jumped up, throwing a fist into the air. "Okay! Today we're all going to the beach!"

"Eh?" Roxas let out, lowering the hand that was still holding his unfinished sea salt ice cream.

"So suddenly?" Olette said in the same amount of shock as Roxas, moving her own popsicle away from her mouth. Quickly recovering, she got on her feet and put a hand on her hip, shaking her popsicle in Hayner's direction as he walked out in front of them. "What about our homework?"

"That's for after, after!" Hayner replied, completely unconcerned, waving his hand in the air dismissing the brunette's worries before he suddenly spun on his heel and pointed a finger at the only girl in their group. "Are you gonna make us end the summer without ever having been to the beach?" he accused. "You stopped us last week, and now you're stopping us again? How will we ever make memories to remember?" Hayner finished dramatically, his arm now draped across his forehead.

Although she didn't have to point out that she stopped their trip to the beach last week for good reason, she couldn't really argue with him about now. While it was true that she was a bit of a stickler about school, after the talk they just had about not being together forever, making memories was much more important than homework. Still, she didn't want to admit that to Hayner least they all take her less seriously when she brought up homework again. "Well, I…!" she said in a weak response, trying hard to look angry though the slight blush on her cheeks showed that she didn't feel that way at all.

Unfortunately for her, it seemed Hayner was a little more perceptive than she thought. "You really wanna go, don't you?" Hayner exclaimed, pointing at her again as he almost jumped up and down on the spot. "I can see it on your face!"

Olette's blush of embarrassment deepened. "That's not true!"

Roxas couldn't help but laugh at Hayner and Olette, but he suddenly stopped as a realization came over him. "Ah," he let out, a completely bug-eyed look on his face.

"What's wrong, Roxas?" Hayner asked, dropping the thing with Olette to look at his best friend.

Roxas shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, I …don't really have any munny." He was silent for a moment as he thought back. "The last time I got allowance, I blew most of it on a tissue dispenser…The tissues came out of this thing's nose. I wonder why I bought that…" Roxas got increasingly quieter as he spoke, a sad look upon his face. He unknowingly ruined a chance to make memories with his friends for that? _Even if it did look kinda cool when I saw it in the shop…_

Hayner and Olette stared at him with a sort of 'I don't know why you did that either' look on their face. Smiling inwardly at how completely Roxas-like it was, though, Olette absentmindedly began eating her popsicle again. "There's the traveling expenses it would take, too," she said, building on Roxas's fact that the trip would take more munny than any of them currently had.

Crossing his arms, Hayner nodded as he closed his eyes. "That's true. Train fare to the ocean, and…pretzels when we're there…"

"Pretzels?" Roxas questioned, returning attention to his ice cream as well.

"Of course! What else is there?"

"Well, there's always watermelon."

Hayner shook his head as he looked at the fellow blonde who had made the comment. "Too pricey. They're like, 2000 munny apiece."

Another freaked out look overtook Roxas. He remembered all the work he had to do for Luna when he bought Olette's gift, and than was just for 1000 munny—half the price. It'd take them a millennium to make 2000 munny. "Pretzels it is," Roxas concurred.

"And then ramen with the thick noodles, and…curry rice with nothing on the side, and shish kabob, and some butter…" Pence went on, completely in his own world once food was mentioned, as if not hearing the munny troubles the rest of them were discussing.

"_Just pretzels_," Hayner reiterated, knowing the more food Pence listed, the more they'd _all_ want food they couldn't afford. Shaking his head, he suddenly perked up and was back to pumping his fist in the air. "Just leave everything to me! We'll be fine!" he yelled as he ran out of the Usual Spot, leaving a bewildered Roxas and Olette in his awake, as well as a confused Pence, who had just returned from his world.

Looking silently at each other, Roxas and Olette quickly finished their ice cream while Pence waited, and the three of them hurried after Hayner, finding themselves standing in front of the referee and producer of the Struggle tournament at a storage lot.

"Even if you suddenly come up and say, 'Give me a job'…" the referee said reluctantly, unsure of what to do with an eager Hayner.

"I'm begging you, sir!" Hayner exclaimed, his face twisted in desperation and his hands intertwined together as if praying. "We really need the munny!"

Roxas, Olette and Pence stood a little ways behind Hayner, unsure of how to look or what to say. Frankly, they were too surprised to.

"When he said 'leave everything to me', I thought he had it single-handedly covered," Pence said with a very 'why am I not surprised' look plastered all over his face. _He just expects us to do all the heavy lifting, doesn't he?_

"This _is_ Hayner we're talking about, so probably not," Olette replied, trying to look supportive though she was worried what kind of mess Hayner would get them into now.

"Yeah…" was all Roxas was able to let out, slightly embarrassed at his best friend's antics. One would think they would all be used to Hayner's actions by then, but they had long ago stopped wishing for their leader to be any other way. Truthfully, their lives wouldn't have been half as exciting otherwise.

"Hey, guys, we've got a job!" Hayner screamed, breaking the trio out of their conversation. They blinked, watching their leader turn to face them with a pile of papers practically the size of the Clock Tower in his hands. "We've just gotta put up all these posters!"

"Struggle Battle?" Roxas read, taking one of the posters to look at it.

"That's right…it's the day after tomorrow," Pence replied before his eyes wandered to the stack Hayner placed down on the ground. _Isn't that too many?!_ Pence thought, wondering how late into the night it'd take them to finish putting those many posters up around Town.

"Don't lose to Seifer's gang, you guys!" Olette said good-heartedly, not meaning anything bad towards Seifer or his group specifically. She'd just much rather have her friends win, after all.

"As if we'd lose! Right, Roxas!" Hayner yelled heatedly, slapping his hand on Roxas's shoulder before wrapping his arm around the bewildered boy's neck. It was like it was an order, since losing would definitely not fare well with their hot-blooded leader, especially after everything they went through concerning Seifer. "The final match will be between the two of us. And whoever wins it, we'll split the prize between the four of us!"

"That's great!" Pence exclaimed, feeling pumped up.

"Such confidence!" Olette teased, winking at them as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Grinning brightly, Hayner looked at Roxas earnestly. "We can do it, right? Since it's you and me," he added softly yet determinedly.

Roxas couldn't help but grin back, finding himself blushing at Hayner's energy and determination. Unlike what he said about handing them going to the beach just moments before, Roxas was certain that Hayner would make sure they would win. "Yeah!"

"All right! It's a promise!" Hayner separated himself from Roxas and the two of them lifted an arm up, crossing them like an 'X', a sign of their friendship. The four of them smiled ecstatically, and while he was still on his high, Hayner swiftly grabbed a poster and a roller, dabbing the latter into a pan of paste. Before the rest of them knew it, Hayner was going up and down the small ladder at blinding speed, putting more and more posters up.

When he was seemingly down, he jumped off the ladder and faced his friends, spreading his arms wide. "How's this~!" Hayner roared, breathing heavily and looking very much like a mad man. Behind him, the posters he put up spelt the word 'WIN'.

Smiling awkwardly, Olette and Pence laughed uneasily, slowly nodding their heads as if not knowing what else to say. If such things like a sweat drop could physically form in real life, one would be hanging near Roxas's head.

"I think we should put them up in more places…" Roxas suggested, gaining real laughs from Olette and Pence. Hayner gave him a look as if he didn't understand what he meant, and Pence placed a consoling hand on Hayner's shoulder as the four of them gathered around to explain and organize how they were going to do the job.

With the four of them busy talking, no one noticed a dark figure linger for a moment before disappearing from view.

xoxoxoxox

"The ocean?"

DiZ's voice pierced through the low humming of the machines that surrounded him where he sat. Although it seemed like he was talking to himself, seeing as there was no one else in the room, a small audio device window was open in the corner of one of the screens, showing that the man dressed in red was definitely talking to someone else.

"Don't be stupid," he continued, his voice ever so condescending. "They cannot leave town."

Riku had to try very hard to refrain from rolling his eyes as DiZ's voice came through the top end of the receiver that he held in his ear. Is this what he got for informing the man of what Roxas was up to? Maybe he had another agenda to his actions as well, but…

"I could widen the area, but the enemy would have more entry points," DiZ explained, cutting into Riku's thoughts. "Go and prepare."

There was a pause, and as Riku began to move the receiver away from his ear to hang up, assuming the conversation was over, DiZ suddenly spoke up again. "Don't develop feelings for _that_."

Riku froze immediately on the spot. _How did he know?_ It was like DiZ was reading his mind. Going by the silence that answered him, DiZ figured he had hit the mark. It wasn't that he was a psychic or anything, but after the years of research he did on the heart, he had to come out of it with _something_, even if everything ultimately ended in failure. Riku was heading down the same path he had seen too many times before, and he couldn't leave him there. They had things to do, a purpose of why all of them were going through this in the first place, and nothing could get in the way of that.

"Keep our objective in sight," DiZ finished, and he hung up before Riku could so much as utter a word.

Even as the dial tone continued endlessly in his ear, Riku didn't move the receiver from it's place near the body part. His mind, as always, was going a hundred miles a minute. After leaving to think for a bit after his first encounter with the blonde boy this morning, and then seeing the four them together again, he was angry as he was when he saw them before, but…Riku could feel a small soft spot beginning to form. After all, if he and his friends couldn't be together like that, then surely they should have the chance to.

They could live through them.

The thought grew more when he found out that they wanted to go to the beach. Sora always loved the beach. The three of them always hung out at the beach—they practically lived there. So he was so hopeful when he told DiZ about it. _If they could just go to the ocean…_ But maybe DiZ was right. It was a little late to have Roxas's and his friends' best interest in mind. If that were the case, he would have never defeated Roxas, or at least have given him the chance to meet with his _real_ friends, in the real Town.

He was doing this for _his_friends. He was doing this for _all_ the worlds.

He couldn't…_shouldn't_…forget that. Even if he finally realized what Naminé was fighting so hard to keep.

xoxoxoxox

"Ta-da! Please bear witness to this!"

Standing in front of Twilight Station, the three boys stood around the lone girl of the group as she held up her homemade munny pouch.

"Look at the weight of this munny pouch! For our part-time job, we have been granted 5,000 munny!" Olette finished with a cheer.

"Yes!" Hayner screamed, pumping a fist in the air again as he jumped up high. Roxas and Pence clapped at the news, very pleased looks upon their faces. After the energy from Hayner's uplifting Struggle Battle speech died out, it took a lot of work for the four of them to do a proper job, though it was fun to talk to the townspeople they met about the event.

Faking tears, Hayner rubbed an eye as he slowly reached out for the pouch. "Just for a moment, let my touch it, get a taste of it…" As he blindly closed his hand around the area where the pouch was, Hayner found that he grasped at air. Opening his eyes, his mouth dropped as he saw Olette turning towards Roxas.

"Roxas, look after it. Don't let Hayner anywhere near it!" she told him as she placed her pouch in his hands and closed his fingers around it.

"Hey! Don't be like that!" Hayner shrieked as the fellow blonde male placed the munny in his back pocket. Sure, maybe he was _a __little_ bad with munny, but there was no way he could spend it all between where they stood now and the ticket counter just beyond the doors in front of them. Wasn't Roxas the one who had spent his allowance on a tissue dispenser, after all?

The distant sound of a train caught all of their attentions, causing them to look up at the sky.

"Ah! Looks like the train will be coming any minute now," Olette noted.

"All right! Let's hurry!" Pence said excitedly, and he and Olette ran ahead towards the stairs.

Roxas smiled and motioned to run after them after placing the pouch in his back pocket, but stopped as he realized Hayner didn't look like he was going to budge at all. Looking over at his best friend, he blinked when he noticed a serious expression on Hayner's face. Unlike the one he had before at their hideout, this one seemed strange…like he wasn't himself…like he was possessed. "Hayner…?" Roxas asked uncertainly.

"We can't be together forever…so we'd better make the time we _do_ have something to remember," Hayner said in an almost monotone voice.

"Huh?" Roxas's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. He thought they had gotten past that topic a while ago. _Why all of a sudden…_

Blinking, Hayner looked at Roxas as if he had forgotten what he had just said, watching as the other took a stop closer to get a better look at him. Bringing an index finger to rub underneath his nose, he smiled and brought a light first to punch at his best friend's stomach. "Gotcha!" Hayner said jokingly before running to catch up with Olette and Pence.

Rubbing his stomach, Roxas watched Hayner leave, still a little lost. He shrugged it off, though, as a smile came to his face, and he ran after him. He wasn't able to take more than two steps before he felt something hit against his leg hard and he fell to the cobblestone ground with a loud 'thump'. Hearing the sound, Hayner, Olette and Pence quickly turned around and took a few steps toward him out of shock.

"Owww…" Roxas groaned as he sat up, touching his lip and placing a hand behind him to check his back. His eyes scanned the area to see what hit him, sapphire eyes falling up a stick nearby. "What the hell…A stick…?" There was something familiar about that stick, though. Sensing movement beside him, Roxas tore his gaze from the stick to look up at a black cloaked man hovering above him.

A strangled sound escaped his lips as the man roughly pulled him to his feet and towards him, whispering something. "What?" Roxas breathed out in response.

"Heeeey! Roxas, you okay?" Hayner yelled from his position, taking a couple more steps towards him.

Roxas looked behind him to glance at his friends before looking towards the man beside him only to find him gone, his arm now just hanging in midair where it was being held up in the man's grip before. "Huh?!" he exclaimed in complete disbelief, looking around for any signs of the man.

Hayner, Olette and Pence look at each other worriedly, both at Roxas's lack of response and his weird actions, turning back to watch as Roxas gave up whatever he was searching for and came to join them.

"You okay?" Hayner repeated, though the distant nod he received did little to make him believe Roxas's answer. He didn't push, though, since time was cutting close, and he figured he could ask him about it later. Leading the way inside, Hayner ran up to the ticket booth. "Tickets for four students!" he told the teller as he held up four fingers, turning to look back at his friends. "Roxas, the money."

"Mm," Roxas responded, digging a hand into his back pocket. "What?" His back pocket was empty. Searching his other pockets frantically in case he placed it somewhere else and forgot, dread slowly settled in his stomach as he realized he didn't have it. "No! It's gone!"

"What?!" the others replied in mild devastation.

"You're kidding, right?" Hayner questioned, hoping Roxas was making a joke, albeit a completely lame one.

"What happened?" Olette asked, more out of worry than anger.

Roxas paused for a moment before gasping, remembering the cloaked man that picked up him. "It was that guy…! He took it!" He quickly glanced out the glass doors that gave a view of the plaza outside before looking back at his friends and lifting up a hand as if to tell them to wait for a moment. "I'll go find him! I don't think he could have gotten very far yet!"

"'That guy'?" Hayner repeated, confused. "You were alone when you tripped, weren't you…?"

Roxas's eyes widened as he stood frozen where he was. _But he…there wasn't…really?_The train station bell snapped Roxas from his thoughts, and Pence turned away from his friends to look at the train platform that was past the stairs behind them.

"Ah…the train left," Pence stated sadly, his shoulders drooping.

"Today's no good, then," Hayner said, looking over his shoulder towards Pence and the train that was no longer there.

The look on Roxas's face was heart breaking. He didn't know which hurt more—the fact that there was apparently 'no guy there', or the fact that he was the reason he and his friends couldn't enjoy their hard-earned munny with a trip to the beach. "…no way…" he whispered. _There wasn't anyone…there?_

Outside the station, Riku lightly chucked the munny pouch up, catching it before throwing it into the air again as he walked away.

xoxoxoxox

"Maybe…when Roxas tripped, someone came by and picked it up," Hayner offered into the silence that enveloped them.

The four of them now sat on the ledge of the Clock Tower, with Olette sitting between Roxas and Hayner with Pence on Hayner's other side. They all had another sea salt ice cream in their hands, though Roxas's was melting as he was too dejected to even touch it. His sapphire eyes watched the train moving in the distance…the one they probably would have been on if it wasn't for him.

"Sorry," Roxas apologized absentmindedly for about the thousandth time.

"We said it's okay," Olette said gently, hoping to finally get that through Roxas's thick head. "If you hadn't helped us fix the posters, we wouldn't have gotten the money anyway, Roxas…"

"Right, right," Pence agreed, happily licking at his popsicle. "Right now, we're just tasting another of the little joys, aren't we? It's all the same!"

"In a way, we've made an awesome memory," Hayner supplied, taking a big bite out of his ice cream. "We'll make lots of them like this. Memories!" The other three lowered their treats to look at their leader, whose face was as bright as the eternal setting sun in front of them. "Even if our wish for things to stay this way forever can't come true, it's like we can remember this whenever we want."

A peaceful moment passed before Pence stuffed his popsicle in his mouth, unsuccessfully warding off a laugh. "Meh, I still don't think this kind of talk suits you," he said around the ice cream.

Blushing, Hayner gripped the stick of his popsicle as he glared at the dark-haired boy. "Shut it!"

Smiling and blushing faintly, Roxas looked away from his friends and back at the warm scenery in front of them. _Well, as long as my friend's are happy…_ His smile slowly faded as he remembered the words the cloaked man whispered to him.

"_Can you feel Sora?"_

That man had to be there. What was weird was that no one else but him saw him. Not only that, but now it was confirmed—Sora was real. That man knew him. But the more answers he got, only more questions were raised in its wake.

_Sora… It's like ever since I've been having these dreams of you, only weird things keep happening to me._

Roxas brought his ice cream to his mouth and began eating it.

_Who are you…?_

xoxoxoxox

Soft boots treaded upon the smooth surface of the floor as Riku walked down the halls of the basement of the Old Mansion. Up ahead, amber eyes took in the blonde female that leaned against the wall, watching as she stood straighter as he approached.

"Welcome back," Naminé said cheerfully, even as Riku didn't show any signs of slowing down to have a chat with her. She hadn't seen him in what seemed like forever, and even a tiny glimpse like this made her happy, and it was one step towards her being able to tell him about her plan.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly. It's not as if he got any pleasure being so hostile towards her. It was just, adding to the awkwardness from two days ago, he now didn't feel comfortable knowing why she acted the way she did towards Roxas, and him really feeling the same way, but having conflicting emotions and doing everything to completely go against her efforts. He wished there was something he could do to make this right as well, but as far as he knew it was a doomed cause.

"I found out you went to see Roxas," she replied just as happily as she had before, completely undeterred by his attitude, as she knew Riku enough to know he was covering for something and hurting himself just as much as he was hurting her.

"…I see," was all Naminé got as Riku walked past her. He knew her enough to know when she said 'found out,' she really meant 'eavesdropped'. Riku wasn't sure what she was getting at, and he had had enough of Roxas for an entire week.

Smiling, Naminé closed her eyes before she turned to fully face his retreating back. "It's alright. _I_ can feel Sora."

Riku didn't reply as he continued walking. The only clue that what she said really hit him was the slightest falter in his step, and it would have been hard to catch if one wasn't really looking. He guessed that was Naminé's way of telling him that Roxas could feel Sora, too, and Riku smiled internally at that.

He felt calmer at the words.

Everyone was affected by what was happening to Sora. While others couldn't remember him, Riku couldn't 'feel' Sora, their bond broken and incomplete. It made him wonder and worry if Sora still existed, if the brunette male was still the same best friend he knew and cared for. His body was there in that pod, but was his personality, his spirit? Everything that really made Sora, Sora? And then with everything happening today, he began to wonder if Roxas could feel Sora, if he was alive somewhere within him. Would Sora have enjoyed it if they did make it to the beach?

If he lost Sora, would he still have Roxas as some sort of perverse back up…?

Now, if things went wrong, it looked like he would.

_Thank you, Naminé._

_Restoration at 28%._

Four more days until complete memory restoration.


	11. Contact

** author' s notes: **Yoohoo~! Didja think I forgot about this story? Not a chance, guys. It might take me forever to finish, and unfortunately long to update, but I _will_ continue to write this fanfic. I'd like to thank everyone who continued to give this story hits, alerts and reviews! All were very much appreciated and has helped drive me to complete this chapter.

I haven't been following the Kingdom Hearts new too much lately, so I may be completely in the dark about some things that might've been revealed about the storyline that might've made an impact with my story. But I'll just continue writing the way I planned this plot out, 'kay?

I didn't like how the game handled some of the scenes in Day 3, so I've followed how the manga did it mostly while adding in my own two cents. I still suck at fighting scenes after all this time, though, so please excuse that xP

I've posted this without it going through a beta, so if you catch any mistakes, sorry! I'll probably go through this sometime later and fix any I find when I don't have a killer headache. I'm still looking for a beta if anyone's interested.

* * *

**Chapter XI:** Contact

The munny pouch sliced through the air in an almost nostalgic manner as Riku played catch with it from his place by the far right wall of the computer room. After his brief meeting with Naminé in the hallway, he had gone to 'report' to DiZ, but that had been several minutes ago. It was already late into the night when he first returned to the Old Mansion, and the long-haired teen was certain he felt the Clock Tower chime a while back, signaling midnight—a new day. The red-dressed man had made a noise upon his arrival in the room, a sound that had both acknowledged him and demanded that he remain quiet as the other tampered with the multiple screens that he sat in front of. Riku had tried to follow what DiZ was doing, but gave up soon after—he hated to admit it, but technology was not something he was gifted at. He managed to keep quiet for quite some time, but boredom, or rather wanting a distraction to keep his mind from wandering into topics he'd rather not think about, got the best of him, in which munny pouch tossing came in.

Amber eyes, which had long since become accustomed to the glaring light from the numerous computer screens, flickered in that direction. Noticing that data from the day before was now displayed, the darkness wielder took it as a sign to begin talking. That, and he couldn't keep his thoughts and opinions to himself any longer with a reminder of it staring back at him.

"Did we really have to go that far?" he asked in that deep voice that wasn't naturally his, the jingling of the munny in the pouch that he tossed an indication of what he was referring to. If DiZ was skilled enough to create an entire duplicate of a world, couldn't he have found another way of stopping Roxas and his friends from going to the beach? Trains broke down all the time, after all.

"I already told you why they couldn't go to the beach," DiZ replied in a monotone voice, not even bothering to turn around and face his hooded companion.

Riku snorted in his head. _That wasn't my question._ He was beginning to think the other man really did have something against Roxas. Sighing inwardly, he caught the pouch as gravity pulled it down from the air and held it out in front of him despite the fact that DiZ couldn't see his actions—Riku knew the other knew what he meant. "And this?"

The man's hard gaze softened slightly as he chuckled. "We can always buy some sea salt ice cream." DiZ's laughing continued, but eventually the silence and the sound of munny jingling again as Riku recommenced tossing the pouch slowly caused it to fade away. With his eyes hardening once more, he stared intently at the screens, getting back to work. "Objects from _that_ town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that."

Riku made a non-committal noise and stepped away from the wall, preparing to leave. He had one more question before he did, though. "What about the XIII Order?" It bothered him that one of them was able to enter the digital Twilight Town, and while he was grateful they weren't attacking their real base yet, them going after Roxas was also a hinder to their plans.

DiZ snorted as if he was offended by the boy referring to the XIII Order as threats. "Mere annoyances, that's all. They'll only find his image, nothing more. You'll see to that. In any case, if Naminé would just speed things up, we wouldn't have to worry about anything."

Another throaty noise escaped from the cloaked figure and in the next moment, he left the room. Riku stood outside the door for a second, feeling the need to regain his bearings after stepping into such a well-lit hallway when he just left a much darker area. When he felt adjusted, he motioned to move out, but Riku didn't take more than a couple of steps before he stopped, sensing movement down the hall behind him. Sure enough, Naminé soon appeared in view, coming back from the room that housed Sora. The bleached-blonde girl didn't seem to notice him until she was a few feet away from him, where she stopped and looked at him.

Naminé's mind was reeling. She had originally gone to visit Sora to 'talk' to him about everything that was happening, discussing her plan aloud, and had stayed a little longer to further progress on her 'real job' in restoring the keyblade wielder. Although the talk allowed the witch to sort out her thoughts, it also brought to the forefront things she could no longer put off. Naminé left the Pod Room in a thoughtful daze, only to be brought out of it by one of the very matters she had to address. Cerulean eyes stared deep into the shadow of Riku's face created by the hood he never pulled down, feeling as if this was an even surer sign of what she had just recently decided on. A small smile graced her lips before it disappeared, and white sandals gently treaded upon the floor as she approached the taller being.

"Riku…we need to talk."

xoxoxoxox

Water…he was underwater. How was it possible for him to be underwater and not drown? Donald and Goofy were on either side of Sora, as an octopus and turtle, respectively. Before the trio floated a white haired man with a crown upon his head and a giant fin as his lower body, much like how Sora's lower body appeared.

"_As the key bearer, you must already know—one must __not__ meddle in the affairs of other worlds."_The man was speaking harshly in a reprimanding way as the brunette listened with a look of part shame and part defiance on his face.

**Static.**

A redheaded mermaid swan languidly upwards in the underwater treasure room; the tone of her voice was as dreamy as her actions. _"So many places I want to see…I know I'll get there someday."_

**Fizzle, fizzle, crack, fizzle.**

The room, now back on land, felt much warmer with the yellow and brown undertones, but also gave off a sort of ancient feel. Back to their normal forms, Sora, Donald and Goofy stood before two other figures—a very short, horned creature and a young muscled man. The former stood upon a slab of stone, reading off a scroll that he held in front of him.

"_Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes."_

**Brief static.**

Apparently, Donald didn't take to something that the creature had said for he angrily stopped a webbed foot forward. _"Hey! What do you mean 'junior heroes'?"_

The creature didn't seem offended or surprised by the outburst and was swift to explain what the duck didn't seem to understand. _"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a __true__ hero."_

**Crack, shift, fizzle.**

"_I…I wish…"_ A young, desert-dwelling male teen sat upon the ground, looking a little dejected and unsure of what he wanted to say next. As he raised his head and set his gaze upon the blue being in front of him, the teen's conviction seemed to harden, though. _"…for your freedom, Genie."_

Genie was surprised by the boy's decision, thoroughly prepared for a completely different answer. _"Al!"_ he exclaimed, and his mouth opened as a swirling pink force enveloped him. Al, along with Sora and the others, watched as Genie came out of the magic tornado with a pair of legs, as if that signified his freedom from what tied the blue being as a wish-granter.

**Fuzzy static.**

It was a dark world, a world that didn't seem to ever see any daylight, and the skeleton-like being fit right in when one thought of it in that way. _"Sally, why didn't I listen to you?"_ The man sounded defeated as he slumped forwards.

"_Don't feel bad, Jack,"_ Sally tried to comfort him, stepping towards the other. _"We'll come up with another plan for Halloween."_ Smiling, she took both of Jack's hands with two of her own.

"_Next time, we'll do it together."_

**Brief fizzle.**

Looking concentrated, Sora twirled the Keyblade above him before slamming it into the ground. _"Power!"_ he yelled as he struck downwards. Through the dark, fiery haze, a two-headed dragon seemed to sway, and in the next moment, a small miniature dragon stood upon Sora's head.

"_I am Mushu!"_ the red creature exclaimed proudly.

**Coding.**

"_Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the 'Keyblade'?"_ Riku's voice taunted, almost too harshly as if he said it with hate.

Sora turned away from Donald and Goofy to face his best friend, paying more attention to him than the puppet that stood by the silver-haired boy's side. _"Riku?!"_ the brunette said disbelievingly. _"Wh-what are you doing here?"_ There was almost an accusing tone in Sora's voice.

**A static image of the redheaded girl flashed by.**

"_Did you find her__?"_ Sora demanded weakly, hopeful.

**Static, crack, static.**

"_I still can't believe it."_ The keyblade wielder seemed to talk more to himself than to Donald, Goofy, and a redhead boy dressed in green, who were also in the room standing behind him. _"I really flew. Wait 'til I tell Kai—"_

**The redheaded girl's face flashed by once more.**

"_I wonder if she'll believe me. Probably not."_

**Brief static.**

Sora had been standing a distance away from the green-clad boy as he talked with a girl, but he lowered the hands that were up behind his head as the tiny fairy that was with them flew over towards him, in which he gazed upon her in awe.

**Brief fizzle.**

"_I'm searching, too,"_ Sora said as the blonde man wearing a cape walked passed him, Donald and Goofy. They were all within an ancient coliseum.

"_For your light?"_ the man asked as he looked at them.

**Swiftly, the redheaded girl's image appeared yet again.**

"_Don't lose sight of it,"_ the blonde male finished as he walked further away.

**Short static.**

It was nighttime, and a whole group of animals were gathered underneath a tree. A yellow bear tapped the side of his head in thought as the tiny pink pig spoke up.

"_Sora, where are you going?"_

Sora, who was alone this time without Donald and Goofy, stopped walking and turned around slightly to look back at the group. _"I'm gonna go look for my friends. They're waiting for me,"_ he answered gently, as if afraid to hurt their feelings or bring up sad emotions of his own. The others seemed to accept this, though, and came together in a loose horizontal line to wave goodbye to the brunette.

**Static, coding, fizzle.**

Sora stared up at Riku, who stood upon a higher level of the ship. It wasn't their first meeting since they separated, and so no heartfelt words seemed to escape the keyblade wielder this time around. _"Where are Donald and Goofy?"_ was what he said instead.

Riku's sapphire eyes hardened at the question—it wasn't as if he was surprised Sora didn't seem relieved to see him, but he hated how his best friend's train of thought was now focused on his new friends. _"Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking about…her."_

The older teen moved out of the way to reveal the person who was sitting behind him, but the image was replaced with a **heavily static image of their redheaded friend**.

Floating in the air, Sora pointed his Keyblade towards the keyhole within a face of a large clock. The image faded into one of Riku as Sora remembered him, smug with his arms crossed in front of his chest, with Kairi smiling sweetly behind him.

xoxoxoxox

Although the dream…Sora's memories…seemed to stop, Roxas still found himself in the deep, dark void of sleep. After what seemed like forever, the image of a light-blonde girl in white clothing appeared, her back facing towards him. Was he still dreaming? It didn't seem to be one of Sora's, though he didn't have one of his own in a while. He didn't even know who this girl was, so how could he dream of her? Immediately, the first words to come to mind were, _'Who are you?'_ The girl turned around to face him, and though he couldn't see her eyes, a small, reassuring smile soon lit up her face…

Slowly, Roxas's eyes opened. It was one of the more calmer awakenings he had lately. He figured it was because he didn't wake up to some startling epiphany like the day before. While the blonde wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Roxas couldn't help but just as unsettled as if he did wake up from a nightmare. That look, or rather, that smile…it was as if she was offering an apology before something bad happened. Call him paranoid or pessimistic, but with everything that had been going on lately, he wouldn't be surprised, which was a bad thing in itself, for no one should be conditioned to weird and dangerous things happening to themselves or their friends. For once, he'd like to be pleasantly surprised, like finding out he won a year supply of sea salt ice cream.

Roxas suddenly shivered, and it wasn't because he was cold. He got the feeling that someone was in his room, watching him, and while he didn't know exactly how he knew, it felt like the presence of that girl from his dream. Jerking, he turned to look at his right but found the space empty. "Huh…?" he let out before he realized it, continuing to stare. _I was so sure…_ He was surprised, but it wasn't the pleasant one he desired just seconds before. In fact, it left him more apprehensive.

Sighing, Roxas rubbed the back of his head before dropping the hand behind him like it weighed a ton and he no longer had the strength to keep it up. He'll have to worry about that later. Although his friends said it was fine yesterday, Roxas still felt bad about not being able to go to the beach. He wanted to make it up to them somehow, but he couldn't do that if he was still in bed.

With a smile, he ran to the bathroom to get ready.

xoxoxoxox

Silence was what greeted the blonde when he walked into the Usual Spot, and while it came with a logical reason, he didn't expect the place to be deserted. He walked deeper inside, his brain beginning to churn out places where his friends could be before his sapphire eyes caught on a something white upon the dark surface of the wooden crate Hayner usually sat on. Drawing closer, he picked up the hand-written note in his hands, reading it carefully.

'Meet at the station. Today's the day we hit the beach—and don't sweat about the munny! - Hayner and the gang'

A grin spread across Roxas's face, one that he wouldn't be embarrassed about if someone caught him looking like that. Not only had his friends managed to find another way to their destination, they made sure to assure him, once more, that the incident that occurred wasn't his fault—like they knew he would still be stressing over it. He really ended up with the best friends anyone could've ever hoped for.

Placing the note back where he got it, Roxas raced out of the hideout, through the Back Alley and into Station Heights, where he saw Pence and Olette walking towards his direction; most likely coming to get him since he didn't meet up with them yet.

"Ah, Roxas!" Olette called cheerfully as she and the ebony-haired boy beside her slowed to a stop as the other male approached them. "You'll never believe it! Hayner got 5,000 munny from one of his uncles! What are the chances, right?" She adjusted the yellow flowery bag on her left shoulder as she spoke, and Pence seemed to shadow her as he, too, juggled with a fishing rod, small cooler and rubber riding tube that he had piled upon his right shoulder.

"So Hayner said we're going to the beach!" Pence said excitedly, as if the permanent smile and jolly blush upon his cheeks weren't enough physical evidence of their leader's news. "We just got back from packing and were coming to get you!"

"Really?!" Roxas exclaimed, proving Olette's words true that he really couldn't believe his ears. Hayner, or rather his relatives, were becoming more reliable every day! "That's grea…" he trailed off as he noticed something odd about his friends. Pence, who was previously fidgeting, seemed to grow still in mid-motion, and Olette's face was frozen in a happy expression, which was only weird because her eyes never opened or moved since the time she closed them. "H-hey guys, what's wrong…?" His voice dripped with concern, though his mouth formed a loose smile, ready to laugh and joke about how it wasn't funny. Roxas lifted a hand to pat Pence on the shoulder, gasping in horror when the chubby male fell upon the ground below them, his body still glued in the same position it was when he was standing.

_This can't be happening…_

"Good morning, Roxas."

A voice from behind jarred Roxas out of his thoughts, and with a serious look upon his face, he turned to face the one who called him—the same one who was probably behind whatever happened to his friends.

"Come to the Haunted Mansion, and I'll tell you all the things you want to know…"

It felt like his blood had frozen itself. It was the girl from his dreams. The one who looked like she wanted to apologize for what would happen in the future, the one he was sure was in his room, spying on him…the one who he told himself he'd worry about later. He didn't confront her (though in hindsight, it would've been impossible to find her) and now she was here before him. Was what happened to his friends what she wanted to apologize for? And what was this about telling him things he wanted to know? Roxas's eyes widened. Did the girl know something about Sora? About everything that's been plaguing him?

The mysterious girl was walking away now, towards the Tram Common that was a shortcut to the path that led to the Mansion, and Roxas found himself staring after her as she disappeared before his feet began to follow. If he went, perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone—protect his friends from further harm and find out some answers.

_I've never seen that girl before, but she knows something__!_ With that, Roxas ran after her. _Please, tell me! What's happening around me?_

As soon as Roxas had left the area, Pence and Olette seemed to be freed of whatever spell was cast upon them. Emerald eyes blinked as an empty space where Roxas once stood greeted her, and Pence groaned from his newfound place upon the ground.

"Roxas…where did you go?" Olette whispered, first out of utter shock that he disappeared in less than a second before the feeling evolved into worry.

"Eh…? How did I get down here?" Pence asked, dumbfounded, and he looked up as Olette looked down at him. They shared one serious, fleeting look before the brunette girl held out her hand to help her friend onto his feet. Saying a gentle thanks before dusting himself off, chocolate eyes took in his best friend before placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Maybe he was so excited he went home to get ready?" he offered, knowing what was on her mind; they were best friends for a reason, after all.

Olette smiled weakly her headband wearing companion; she appreciated what he was trying to do. "Mm…he and Hayner seem to share that quality," she agreed teasingly, her smile leveling out. _That, and this is the second time Roxas has disappeared in a flash… I wonder why he never joined the Track Club if he had this kind of skill._ Mentally shaking her head, she clasped her hands behind her and took a few steps forward before turning on her heel, catching Pence's tilt of his head. "Well, if that's the case, let's wait for him at the Station with Hayner. That guy will get antsy if he's left alone too long."

A laugh escaped Pence with that comment, and he nodded, knowing what she was saying underneath: _If he doesn't show up, then we can look for him together._ "Yeah, that'll be dangerous. He might start sprouting more 'memory making' speeches again."

"Y'know, you're the one who started that whole thing in the first place," Olette countered, jokingly pointing an accusing finger at Pence.

Their conversation continued as a passing train drowned it out, the two of them walking in the opposite direction Roxas went.

xoxoxoxox

Although the building itself wasn't the tallest, one could oversee the activities of at least three different districts from the rooftop. Cerulean eyes took in the group that had gathered in the Sandlot below her, before moving to watch Pence and Olette walking towards the station before finally resting upon Roxas as he made his way to the destination she had previously instructed him to go to. Her gaze softened as sadness overtook them.

_Roxas…We were both born the same way from the same place, and the same people are using us: the XIII Order, as well as DiZ. Both sides are using us because we were born in a special way. We're both searching for the same thing, but you've probably forgotten all of that now…_

Mentally sighing, Naminé closed her eyes. These were thoughts she often had, but they were coming more frequently now that she put plans in action and decided to meet the other Nobody.

"Hey there, Naminé."

Suddenly being called upon, Naminé raised her head from the people she was watching, her eyes growing wide as she took in the sight beside her. "You are…"

The man that should have died in Castle Oblivion stood there beside her, looking down at the same people she was doing earlier before he noticed the blonde's staring and moved his gaze to her instead.

"Looks like there's karma going on between us."

"Axel…" the witch whispered, unsure of what she should be feeling by his appearance. She was certain the redhead had been defeated by Sora back in Castle Oblivion, but…

Axel chuckled as if he could tell what she was thinking. If he wasn't himself, he would've wondered how he had survived, too. "I'm not a ghost, okay?" He smirked and returned his gaze back down to Roxas specifically.

Something wasn't right. Naminé had heard that the XIII Order was able to enter DiZ's digital Twilight Town, but she would have never thought it would've been Number Eight, for obvious reasons. "What are you planning to do?" she asked cautiously, coldly, as if ready to cause harm if she didn't hear something she liked. She didn't need him creating another Castle Oblivion fiasco.

"I'm just taking orders." Axel's faced remained expressionless, even as he watched his best friend roaming the streets.

Naminé grimaced at the sight and looked down herself. She never did like that 'true' face of a Nobody, devoid of all emotions. Did he change after Castle Oblivion? Surely staying alive after betraying every one else came with some kind of consequence. "…I see."

"What about you?" Her question was bounced back.

"Me?" was the intelligent reply. Naminé bit on her bottom lip as she kept her head hanging. She had been ready to lash out at Axel if he messed up her plan, but she wasn't any better. She had a plan, a plan that wasn't anyone else's orders, and though she had already put the wheels in motion, she was still unsure of it all. She made the plan without considering anyone else. As she had expected, Riku wasn't pleased when she told him her plan that morning after they met in the hallway. She really was acting selfishly.

"Only you can save him."

That had caught Naminé's attention immediately. "Eh?" She raised her head at Axel's words, and was slightly surprised to find that he wasn't looking at her, and while his gaze was still downward, he was no longer looking at Roxas, either. Roughly calculating what direction it _was_ in, her eyes widened at the single person—it was the same one that she, too, had believed to be the key to Roxas's salvation. The one she had based the entire plan on.

"Got it memorized?" Axel was now looking at her, meeting her gaze when she looked up at him.

"Axel—" Naminé called out desperately, but without leaving a reply, Axel faintly smiled and disappeared. With nothing to look at but air, the blonde slumped slightly before standing straight again. If she wasn't the only one who believed in that person, than maybe her plan wasn't so bad after all.

And maybe, just maybe, Axel wasn't such a bad person either.

xoxoxoxox

Any doubts Roxas had about what he had seen or what he had heard from the dress-wearing girl was periodically dashed by every visage he saw of her leading him towards the Haunted Mansion. By the time he had reached the small hole that led to the forest before the said building, the blonde-boy had paused, peering into the dark abyss beyond. Lately his experiences with the Woods haven't been pleasant, and if he could help it, he wouldn't go near the place. However, there was no other way to get to the appointed meeting place, and he had to get there no matter what. With that in mind, Roxas took a big breath and entered.

Barely two steps in, though, and he came to a stop as the white creatures that had attacked him two days ago appeared from out of the air, it seemed. Half afraid and half frustrated, Roxas clenched his hands into fists and narrowed his eyes. "You guys again?" he yelled, eyeing them as they slowly 'danced' their way closer. _Are they trying to get in my way?_ If they were, was it a good thing? Was it out of protection or was someone stopping him from learning the truth?

Snapped out of his thoughts by the touch of something wrapping around his arm, Roxas gasped and jerked backwards, ripping his hands free before they could all gang up and grab a piece of him. "Let go!" Forgetting the important business he had at the Mansion in light of the potentially life-threatening distraction, he backed up and ran back through the hole. Sparing a glance behind him, he found the beings to be following him right out in broad daylight, which shocked him. Perhaps he was thinking they were something like vampires, in which daylight would harm them, but that didn't seem to be the case at all.

_Can anyone else see them? Would others get hurt?_ Fear constricted his heart. If he ran straight back where he had originally came from, he might bump into Pence and Olette again, especially if they were still their frozen selves. Taking the shortest way out of the Tram Common that he knew, Roxas made a left and ran down the street into the Sandlot. _A weapon…if I had the Keyblade…_ That was what the key-shaped sword was, right? That was the name it was called in his dreams, the one that seemed to be able to make any kind of dent in the white freaks chasing him. But he had tried calling it out yesterday, and it never appeared…would it really come out now?

"Oi!" a voice called from his right, jarring his thinking.

"Jogging, Roxas? Don't run from tomorrow's match!" another voice yelled.

Slowly, with dread creeping up his body, Roxas turned his head and took in the sight of Seifer and the rest of the Disciplinary Committee. It looked like Seifer, the owner of the second voice that called to him, was working out as Rai, the one who originally caught his attention, worked the beanie-wearing boy's shoulder muscles. Fuu stood beside the tall brown teen, fixing up lunch, as Vivi stood silently on her other side.

So much for not getting anyone involved. As much as he greatly disliked Seifer, even he didn't deserve whatever fate came from being caught by the beings that were still relentlessly following him, though they were still further behind, out of sight, explaining why the group of four continued talking as if nothing was wrong.

"The championship will be Seifer's, y'know!" Rai said, stemming off of his leader's comment.

"Conquest assured," Fuu agreed.

Roxas shook his head, blocking their distracting words out. What in the world were they going on about? Couldn't they see he was busy, trying to _save_ their lives? Putting his attention elsewhere, he searched the area for anything he could use as a weapon. At the end of the bench that Seifer sat upon, he spotted a foam bat, and while he knew it, or anything else, wouldn't have any effect on the white, eyeless creatures, it was the only plan he had.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Seifer shouted, watching as Roxas did exactly that as the other lunged for the Struggle bat beside him. He opened his mouth to say something more, but whatever words he was going to utter became lodged in his throat as Seifer felt something wrap its arms around him.

There was a long moment in which everyone stood silent and stared at each other and the white beings surrounding them, and it was held for so long that Roxas thought they, too, had be frozen as his friends were. As soon as he thought it, though, Seifer had stood up, blanching.

"Wh-what the hell are these guys?!" the trench-coat wearing blonde boy stuttered angrily that was partly, if not fully, used to cover his fear. Even if it wasn't a life or death situation, Roxas wouldn't have laughed at Seifer's fear—a normal human, no matter how tough, had to have some fear when staring down something alien.

Rai and Fuu got into fighting stances while Vivi slowing backed away as if waiting for the chance to hide. "How dare you!" Rai screamed at the white creature that held onto Seifer from behind, clasping his hands together before raising his arms up. "I'll save you, Seifer, y'know!" With that, he brought his arms down full strength.

"OW! Don't hit _me_, you idiot!" Seifer yelled, which only seemed to confuse Rai. Rai had indeed aimed correctly, but Roxas knew such attacks only went through the creatures.

"You can't hit these guys with normal attacks!" Roxas tried telling them as he watched Fuu getting ready to attack, turning away from his own handful of enemies to tell them so. He gasped when he found them stuck in mid-motion, unmoving even as the white being that was once draped around Seifer untangled itself from the boy. "Not good…" he muttered, seeing that they were now even more vulnerable than before. _If only I had the Keyblade…Please, one more time…_

"Roxas, behind you!" a girl's voice called from somewhere above. Before he could look up and see who had warned him, Roxas first had to turn and deal with the creature that had planned to get him from behind. He raised the bat up on instinct, and if he didn't have to close his eyes from the sudden burst of white light that blinded him he would have seen the Keyblade in his hands, effectively resisting the head of the Dusk. When the light dispersed, Roxas and the white creatures were nowhere to be found.

From the same spot she had stationed herself since she had first left Roxas, Naminé smiled sadly as she peered over the rooftop.

"Just a little longer, I guess…" she whispered to the wind.

xoxoxoxox

Roxas had seen this place before, or at least a place that looked similar to this. First with the doves, and then with that large black creature that was created from his shadow. Remembering how the latter dream went, he couldn't help but hope it was all just a coincidence. Gingerly taking a few steps around the large, circular platform, Roxas looked down at the stained glass, taking in the faces of people he wouldn't have known the names of two weeks ago.

"Sora…" he said softly as his sapphire eyes took in the sight of Sora's face.

'Don't be afraid.' It was a soundless voice, but Roxas felt he could hear it within the confines of his mind. He immediately halted all movement, straining his mind as if that could allow him to hear the voice more clearly.

'Don't stop walking…' the Voice chided lightly, as if it knew the blonde did. 'You are the one…who will open the door.'

Suddenly, the platform began to shake, and Roxas stumbled to keep his balance standing. Slowly, afraid to see what was causing the tremors of such high magnitude, Roxas whirled around to come face to face, or rather face to shin, since the monster was just _that_ huge, with a large white monster that had come from the glass below.

He just had to jinx it by saying the whole situation was a lot like that dream, didn't he?

'So don't be afraid.'

As if forgetting he held the weapon that could harm what stood before him, Roxas backed up and turned right around, running as far away as he could from the monster. Unfortunately, the high-rise platform had an edge, one that he almost toppled off of, though he managed to save himself. Although the monster was frightening, it was better than falling down into who knew where.

'Don't forget: You hold the mightiest weapon of all.'

Roxas _had_ forgotten, but with that reminder, he felt slightly surer about the decision he made to stay upon the platform. He _could_ fight. So what if it was bigger than the previous white creatures he fought before? The bigger they were, the harder they fell, right? With that adrenaline, Roxas faced the creature, eyeing it with a long, hard gaze before charging forward.

His vision became white as he neared the creature, though, and he had to stop running and shield his eyes to protect it. When the light showing from behind his eyelids disappearing, deeming it safe to open his eyes, Roxas found himself floating in midair, his arms and legs spread out from his body and held there by a mysterious white swirling power. He checked to ensure he still had the Keyblade with him, but before he could search for the monster that had seemingly disappeared, it appeared before him.

Roxas struggled against his bonds as the white creature leaned in close as if to inspect him (_'We have come for you, our liege'_), though the blonde found the action hard to believe since the thing didn't have any eyes that he could see. He didn't stop trying to break free even as the creature leaned back, and it was a good thing he didn't as a large fist was coming his way. The Keyblade glowed, and as Roxas made the move to doge the attack, he actually was able to move three of his four trapped limbs, coming out of it unscathed.

Looking up to see that the hand that held the Keyblade wasn't the one hand that was still held immobile, Roxas pulled back and swung the weapon forward with everything he had, causing the creature to be thrown quite a few yards back. Angry, the creature stalked forward and grabbed onto the boy with both of its large, fingerless hands, effectively breaking the last bond that held him as it threw Roxas high into the air. Disoriented at first, since it felt like he had just gone through a blender, Roxas was freefalling down, his limbs flinging all over the place before his body seemed to take control despite himself.

As if deciding to use the force of gravity to make the upcoming attack stronger, his body got into a stance, arching the Keyblade back before slashing down as he came within striking distance. The monster crashed to the platform hard, but as Roxas turned to face it after landing safely, it slithered right over the edge and disappeared. Cautiously, he walked forward after it, but as soon as he crossed over the halfway mark the entire column tilted, throwing him completely off-balance. If he hadn't dug the edge of the Keyblade into the platform at the last moment, he would've fallen right over the edge himself.

From his dangling position, Roxas found that what would've met him if he _had_ fallen was a large ball of white and dark energy created by the previously MIA monster that now straddled the side of the column. _Oh, sh—_Unable to finish the damning thought he had as he watched the monster jump off, Roxas let out a frustrated cry as the movement caused him to loose his hold on the platform and head straight for the ball of energy the monster had thrown at him. Time seemed to slow down, and as it did Roxas eyed the center of the ball of mass destruction. Realizing he had to aim for the core, he hurled the Keyblade at it. "Gotcha," he said to it with a confident smirk as the weapon cut through it like it was melted butter.

The smirk soon faded when the energy ball exploded due to the counterattack, the force propelling him towards the straightened platform. With much less grace than his last landing, Roxas hit the ground hard, the Keyblade and giant monster joining him soon after. The hit would've caused a normal person to be knocked unconscious, but the blonde boy eventually made it back on his feet, albeit at a slower pace. Shaking his head clear of the static status his brain fell into from the fall, he grabbed a hold of the Keyblade, eyeing the creature in front of him that seemed down for the count.

Seeing this as his chance to finish the thing off once and for all, Roxas charged at the head with a fierce battle cry, smashing down upon it. He wasn't sure if it was the hits or the passing of time, but the creature regained consciousness after a while, the head rising up beyond his reach. With his adrenaline back full force, though, Roxas refused to give up due to the minor detail. If the head wouldn't come to him, he'd go to the head. Using a fluidity his body seemed to remember but he never knew he had, the blonde Keyblade wielder dodged the flying white and black torn whips that came at him as if it was a dance—reverse here, back twirl there—it was like an art.

Using the force created by attacking the shin to push himself higher up the body, Roxas repeated the formula until he landed safely on the monster's forearm. From there, he climbed up past the shoulder and to the neck, where he attacked to propel the last few feet to the head. Although he couldn't climb onto the head itself, Roxas used the airtime he had to unleash a massive assault. Combined with the other attacks that got him to that spot in the first place, the monster soon hit its limit, and with a final strike, the head began to glow a brilliant white.

Roxas back flipped off the monster as it began to shake uncontrollably, landing safely and taking a step backwards as a precaution. As if he needed another sign that the fight was over, the Keyblade disappeared from his grasp, though that only made him uneasy. The creature was falling, and it was falling directly towards him—he would've felt a lot safer if he had something that could hack away anything that tried to land on him. With that option gone, Roxas did the only thing he could—step as far back as he could. Unfortunately, his shoes chose that moment to loose their grip, and after only taking a couple steps back, the blonde fell right onto his bottom. Cringing, he drew himself into a ball as the being finally crashed into the ground.

A few tense moments passed before he considered himself squashed-free, and he slowly uncurled himself to check out the damage. The good thing was that the body of the massive giant was gone, swallowed by swirling mass of dark shadows. The bad thing was that he was right in the middle of the encompassing shadows, too. Roxas remembered this part of the dream as well; the feeling of helplessness and wanting to give up and give into the never-ending dark abyss that was slowly crawling into his heart. He twisted his body, kicked his legs and punched his arms out, trying to free himself of a substance he couldn't even grasp with his fingers. At that thought, he remembered what he _was_ able to hold onto, but that couldn't possibly happen here, for real, could it?

Figuring he had nothing to lose, Roxas closed his eyes and reached out his hand, hoping against hope that Olette would grab onto him and save him from the darkness just as she had before. To his ecstatic surprise, a hand did reach out and held onto his wrist, and while he couldn't tell with his eyes closed and the darkness covering almost his entire body, Roxas blissfully believed that the wrist he held onto back was adorned with a turquoise beaded bracelet. That image stayed with him even as he felt himself swallowed by a purging light.

xoxoxoxox

He wasn't sure how or when it happened, but the next time Roxas opened his eyes, sapphire orbs took in the pure yet off-white room in which he was now standing in. His hand was still stretched out in front of him though nothing was holding onto him any longer, and while his breathing was still slightly erratic considering the situation he had just barely managed to escape, it had already begun to slow down and return to a normal pace. He looked around the rather empty and colour-less room, hoping to find emerald eyes looking back at him, but Roxas's head stopped as he came across a similar shade of blue staring at him again.

The sight seemed to deter him for a moment before he gasped, recognizing the girl that almost blended into the wall that surrounded them. It was her, the girl that had come up to him in the street! Did that mean he had reached the Haunted Mansion somehow? What was it that she had to tell him? Roxas opened his mouth to relay all of these questions and more, but he was stopped before a sound could escape his lips as the blonde girl wordlessly lifted a finger to place against her lips.

_Shh_, she was telling him.

Taken more off-guard than offended by the action, Roxas mimicked the girl's actions, placing his own finger to his mouth to show that he had understood what she requested and would abide by it. It would be better if she started talking after all, wouldn't it?

Smiling, the dress-clad girl lowered her hand until it rested upon the top of her chest. "My name is Naminé," she said plainly, her voice echoing slightly in the empty room.

A silent moment passed, and it was unclear if it was used to let the tiny piece of information set it, or for Naminé to figure out what to say next. Unsure of what to say or do, Roxas remained silent, looking up at her from the girl's perch upon a high reclusive platform. Customarily, he felt like he should introduce himself, but found that would've been awkward considering the girl had called upon him this morning, showing that she already knew it.

It seemed the silence was something Naminé needed, as she soon collected herself and began talking again. "Roxas…do you remember your _true_ name?"

That wasn't something he was expecting. Roxas blinked, his face contorting as his confusion became easily readable. "…True name…?" He could feel a throbbing headache coming on as he tried to understand what Naminé was asking him. Why did it feel like someone had asked him that before? "What…?"

Naminé watched Roxas sadly, cobalt eyes shimmering as if she could feel the pain her question had put him in. Unable to take it anymore, she opened her mouth once more. "You're—" Naminé was cut off as she felt a hand wrap firmly around her arm and pull her to her feet. While the act looked quite rough, it was done so swiftly that she didn't have to put any energy into being picked up—a clean and safe transition was what the witch felt.

"Say no more, Naminé," a deep voice commanded lightly, and the girl looked up at the hooded figure she knew it was since she first felt his touch.

"But if no one tells him, Roxas will…" Naminé trailed off, letting her eyes continue the conversation she didn't want to have in front of the topic of their chatter. _I want to tell him everything, and let him know that there are people on his side. He'll feel better once we tell him the plan._

Inaudibly, Riku sighed, and averted his gaze away from the girl's intense, pleading ones. "Don't do anything unnecessary." _Don't give him false hope. If your plan fails, it'll only give him one more reason to revolt against Sora when the time comes. We can't have that happening._

Naminé lowered her gaze as well, but before she could say anything, Roxas butted in.

"Hey! You're the guy from yesterday!" he yelled, pointing a sharp finger at Riku. "The one who stole the pouch!" Roxas had immediately recognized the guy when he had appeared at Naminé's side, but he refrained from doing anything half out of being unsure if it was the same person, with the hood and all, and half out of wanting to hear exactly _why_the man interrupted their conversation. He was certain it was the same person, though, and if so, maybe he could get back Olette's munny pouch.

He took a step forward, ready to confront the other, but froze at the hooded head turned in his direction. This was like a battle—he had to be prepared if the man threw the first punch. Roxas brought his hands up as the hooded figure lifted his free hand towards him only to jump back as he felt the air behind him sucking him in. He turned around, studying the black hole. _What kind of trick is this?_ With his back towards the real enemy, Roxas never realized the other was behind him until he felt himself being lifted up by the scruff of his neck collar. Before he could so much as scream, he was thrown into the portal and the man watched as it closed in front of him.

Fighting the urge to wipe his hands together (_he's heavier than Sora_, he mentally mused), Riku stood frozen on the spot where he was as he felt Naminé's piercing yet solemn gaze drilling into his back. Ever so slightly, he turned his head so that he could look at her from the corner of his amber eye, though they both knew he wasn't looking at her at all. "It's best he doesn't know the truth," was all he offered as an explanation before he left the room.

Naminé silently remained where she stood for a moment longer; that was all that needed to be said.

xoxoxoxox

"Okay, Roxas may not be the most punctual person in the world, but even this is too much for him."

Hayner, Pence and Olette sat upon the steps that led up to Central Station, the gear they had all packed to bring on their trip to the beach scattered around them, much to the slight displeasure of those who wished to enter the train station. It was late in the afternoon now, and the last train that was going to leave for the sandy beaches was in fifteen minutes. It had taken the boys everything they had to stop the lone female in their group to go search for their late friend, telling her it would be a drag for her to leave just as Roxas was coming in. It was a logic she couldn't deny, and Olette gave them and Roxas the benefit of the doubt for the majority of the day.

But with the last train due soon and still no sign of their friend, even Hayner couldn't deny that something was wrong, and had been wrong for some time now.

"Guys, _please_. What if Roxas is in trouble? He might think they we've ditched him when he needs us most—again," Olette added, remembering the altercation Roxas seemed to have gotten into a couple days ago with the missing photographs. "Can we just go look for him now?" the brunette female begged, unshed tears causing her emerald orbs to shine brightly in the perpetual setting sun. Neither boy could've said no to her when the brunette looked like that, and their own unsettled worries were beginning to get the best of them, too.

"Okay, okay. Grab your stuff. We'll search together, and _when_ we find him," Hayner stressed, as if stomping on any ideas that they wouldn't, "we'll just hang out at the Tower; there are plenty of other days for the beach."

Nodding in agreement, the trio grabbed their things and left to scour the town for their best friend.

xoxoxoxox

"Seifer, strike a pose, y'know!"

_Where…am I?_

"How's this?"

_Those voices sound familiar…_

"That's totally perfect, y'know!"

Groaning softly as he opened his eyes, Roxas lifted his head from its place upon his right arm and blinked at the smooth, golden brown ground that surrounded the Sandlot. _I'm…back._ Hearing clicking noises nearby, he craned his neck upwards to find Seifer standing in front of him with Fuu taking numerous shots with a camera; Rai and Vivi stood cheerfully beside her. Feeling angry that they were taking advantage of his previous unconscious state, Roxas quickly shot up onto his feet. "What are you doing?" he demanded them, watching as Seifer turned around mid-pose and Fuu lowered the camera, the recent photo coming out of the bottom.

"Commemorative photograph," Fuu replied curtly.

"Yeah, of your swooning face, that is," Seifer barked out with a laugh.

Roxas's eyes bugged out of his sockets as he saw the photo, and before any of them could stop him, reached out and took the hanging photo, trying desperately to rip it apart. Who did they think they were? Lying about something they never did pissed him off! At least the last photo of him looking something like he did in the one in his hand was an act they actually earned—the photo they had taken last week and was wrongly accused of stealing. But what happened when he was out? The last time he saw Seifer's gang they were as still as mimes.

"Nevermind that, what happened?" Seifer had changed the subject, most likely to benefit himself, but the tone of his voice was so serious that it had Roxas looking at him with his full attention. "Those monsters from before…I can't figure out where they disappeared to. The Town's not safe with those outsiders on the loose, and it's our job to lay on some 'disciplinary measures'."

He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at how corny the last statement was, but Roxas couldn't help but agree, though never aloud, with the beanie boy. He didn't want those things around where they could attack him or his friends again. "I want to know, too…" _After all that, I haven't learned anything._

"Hn?" Seifer hummed thoughtfully, and Roxas lifted his gaze to follow the other's gaze. His heart stopped for a moment at what he saw.

Hayner, Pence and Olette stood at the opposite end of the Sandlot, by the stairs that led to the Back Alley. The only emotion visible on Hayner's face was pure anger, while a questioning one marked Olette's face; Pence, who was just reaching the last step with all his belongings, had a surprised look on his.

"'In trouble,' huh? It looks like the one ditched was us," Hayner muttered, his fists clenching so tightly they shook. They were all so worried about Roxas, searching the entire mainland of Twilight Town for him and asking everyone they came across if they had seen him. Hell, Olette was close to tears she was so terrified for him. Hayner didn't even want to look in the Sandlot, since there was no way his best bud would set foot in there willingly since it was Seifer's territory, only changing his mind when Pence mentioned he could've been cornered by Seifer. But what they found when they arrived wasn't a bloody Roxas that needed saving, but a Roxas that actually seemed to be getting along with their—or now, rather just his— rival.

He almost wished Roxas _was_ hurt somewhere if it meant he didn't have to feel the betrayal he was feeling now.

Olette glanced at Hayner, hoping to say something to calm him down, but before she could say anything, Seifer's laughing caught all of their attentions.

"What's that, you guys?" Seifer taunted, his arms spread wide open as if beckoning them closer. "Did you want to play with us, too?"

Roxas's head jerked towards the taller blonde beside him, total disbelief in his eyes; the other made it sound like he was willingly hanging out with them! Hayner would…

"_Let's go!_" Hayner ordered so fiercely it caused Olette to flinch.

…completely misunderstand.

Hayner stormed out of the Sandlot, Pence hesitantly following. Olette looked back at Roxas, confusion, pain and relief that Roxas was okay swirling in her eyes, before she, too, left.

"Wait!" Roxas yelled and ran after them, leaving Seifer and his gang behind without another glance. By the time he had climbed the stairs, they were no longer in the Back Alley, but he didn't have to think about where his friends had went as he walked down the street and into their hideout.

Indeed, his friends were there, all holding onto a sea salt ice cream popsicle, though only Hayner was angrily biting into his. Olette held out her untouched popsicle towards him as he took his seat beside her, but Roxas smiled gently and shook his head, thankful for the offer but feeling like he would throw up if he ate anything now; he had a really bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.

"So…you hung out with Seifer's gang today?" Pence said tentatively, breaking the tense silence with a comment that only seemed to make the situation worse. It was an honest question, though, and one that deserved to be answered.

Roxas blanched and strongly shook his head. "N-no! It wasn't like that. I ran into them by accident…" he trailed off, realizing just how lame and unbelieving that sounded. He shook his head again and smiled nervously. He needed another topic to lighten the mood. "Ah…the beach! How was it? You guys went, right?" Sapphire eyes glanced at the gear that was strewn around.

"Oh…no, we didn't," Olette said softly as if something might break if she said it with more force. "It wouldn't be the same without you, you know…"

Olette's gentle smile was meant to make him feel better, but Roxas only felt worse. "…Sorry…it's my fault." A long, pregnant silence followed as he tried to find some way to make it up to his friends. "Ah! Why don't we head to the beach tomorrow?"

Pence and Olette tensed as Hayner gripped the now finished popsicle stick.

"Tomorrow…?" Olette repeated slowly, throwing a glance at Hayner.

Why weren't his friends as pumped as he was? They were waiting forever to hit the beach, and while it was his fault they missed their chanced twice now, he was finally going to make it up to them. "Yeah! Right?" he affirmed, his tone still trying to get his friends more excited about the idea.

"…Tomorrow I've got a promise to keep," Hayner replied harshly.

Roxas's face fell and he stared at his friends, utterly shocked as they all refused to make eye contact with him. "…What is this?" he whispered darkly as he slowly rose to his feet; the movement caused Pence and Olette to look up at him, the former surprised while the latter was worried. Why the hell were his friends ganging up on him like this? What the hell did he do? "Do you know…?" Roxas's voice cracked and he closed his eyes, feeling them beginning to sting. "Do you have any idea what I've…!" _…been through?_ White creatures that have been stalking him, munny stealing cloaked beings, the mysterious Keyblade, a girl who seemed to know everything about what was going on but not having the chance to tell him… His friends were supposed to be on his side, supporting him. Why were they…?

"Roxas…?" Hayner spoke out, his voice now gentle. He stood up and took a step towards his best friend. Although he was feeling angry and betrayed that Roxas was with Seifer the whole day and had forgotten about tomorrow's Struggle battle, he never wanted to see his friend as broken as he looked right now standing in front of him.

"…My head hurts," Roxas muttered and he turned his back on them. "I'm going home." Before the others could so much as breathe, he ran out. The tears that were prickling his eyes before flowed freely down his cheeks now, and he ran through the streets of Twilight Town without a real destination in mind. He eventually slowed to a stop, feeling tired and drained, and as he lifted the back of his hand to wipe the wetness away from his cheeks, he paused as his eyes caught sight of one of the Struggle posters he and his friends had put up yesterday as a job to raise munny to head to the beach. Something clicked at the back of his mind, and his arm lowered numbly as he approached the poster, his eyes widening as he stared up at it.

"_The final match will be between the two of us, and whoever wins it, we'll split the prize between the four of us!"_

"_It's a promise!"_

"…_Tomorrow I've got a promise to keep."_

Roxas raised his hand once more, now clutching onto the wall beside the poster. "Was that…tomorrow?" he murmured, their conversation hitting him full force. "…What is this?" the blonde laughed bitterly, his fingers curling into a tight fist.

His friends weren't ganging up on him at all. He was the one who was screwing up everything, and he yelled at them and blamed them for things that weren't any of their faults.

Roxas dropped to his knees and hung his head, his fist dragging down the wall along with him.

"I'm…an idiot…"

xoxoxoxox

Night was quickly approaching now, though the sky was still locked with the colours of a still setting sun. After his run in with Naminé and Roxas hours earlier, Riku had slipped away into the White Room where he still remained, staring out the window. He wasn't too surprised the blonde girl didn't run in after him, but he also appreciated the time to think and reflect. Everything was moving so quickly. Naminé had told him of her plan that morning, and truthfully, he was completely floored when he heard. He knew she was up to something, but hearing exactly what it entailed was a completely different story.

He was angry at first…he still was. Naminé was playing God with several lives for the sake of very few. There wasn't even a guarantee that the plan would succeed, but caught up in just the afterglow of it all, she was about to blab it all out to Roxas. What would she have honestly done if it didn't work? The blonde boy could make a run for it, and where would that leave Sora? Sora was supposed to come before anything. Riku didn't want to bring any more heartache to Roxas than he had already, either, though he would never admit that aloud. That, and he was unsure about his own role in all of this. What would he and Naminé do if he couldn't come through for her, for them all?

Hearing the sound of soft footsteps behind him, Riku turned around. There stood Naminé, a few feet away with her head face towards the ground and her shoulders shaking as if she had been, and still was, crying. Riku narrowed his eyes and took a step towards her. What had she been doing all this time? He didn't mean for his words to throw her into a depression—they were meant to keep the girl on track before she did or said something that couldn't be taken back. "…Naminé?"

"You told me once that the darkness guided you, didn't you?" With her head still hanging, Naminé spoke in a small voice that would've been hard to catch if it wasn't dead silent in the room. "Darkness is yours. Darkness is something you need."

"…What are you saying?" Riku wasn't mad—he had said that to her. As much as he had despised the darkness within him, he wouldn't have been able to drag Roxas back and have the chance to bring Sora back without it. _But why is she bringing it up now?_ He recommenced his walk towards Naminé until he stood in front of her.

Naminé continued talking as if she hadn't heard a word Riku had just said. His words earlier that afternoon had driven her into a very long, thoughtful reflection.—one that she had always been having. She was so concentrated on her plan and telling Roxas of all the details and the happiness it could bring…but what would happen afterward? If her plan succeeded…what then? It all seemed to work in theory, but would things, would _they_, be any different? Would there be a place for them in the world? "The world needs darkness, and where there's darkness, there's light. Then…what about us?" Naminé finally raised her head, her eyes indeed filled with tears.

"What about _us_?" she repeated painfully.

_Restoration at 48%._

Three more days until complete memory restoration.


	12. Promise

** author' s notes:** Uwa, it's been WAY too long, ne? I don't want to think about it But remember what I said~? I love this couple way too much to leave it like that! I will be finishing this no matter what!

Thank you to every single one of you who have continued to read, review and put this story on alert despite the long time since an update! You helped fuel my desire to complete this chapter. I dedicate this to you.

* * *

**Chapter XII:** Promise

It wasn't normal for someone to be surrounded by pure whiteness and light and still be depressed. Such things would either immediately cheer the person up, or if he or she is so deep in a dark mood, cause the person to flee the bright scene and into a more solemn atmosphere.

However, there Naminé stood in the Pod Room, her hands clenched at her sides and her eyes downcast. In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't polite to bring her negative energy to where Sora rested, but she had already left the White Room in a huff, an unfinished drawing of Roxas and his friends lying on the floor with a broken crayon beside it. Between the two places, she had nowhere else to go in the Mansion, or anywhere she _wanted_ to go, and she honestly didn't have the strength to travel outside the building now.

"_You're you."_

Wrapping her arms around herself, Naminé laughed slightly, bitterly. What's worse was that she didn't really even have a reasonto _be_ as depressed as she was. After her little breakdown the day before, Riku had comforted her in a way that took her by surprise.

"_You're you,"_ Riku had said, wrapping his arms lightly around her after hesitating a little. _"You're not the physical being of some missing piece of someone, nor are you_ _someone's carbon copy. You guys co-exist together, as two separate beings. You have different likes and dislikes than the one you're born from, don't you? It's the same for him. It's like you guys are twins…similar on the surface, but completely different on the inside."_

Naminé had sniffled then, raising her hands to grasp at the taller figure's forearms in front of her.

"_I'm still confused about this whole Nobody business, but you and him, you guys are special, right? Although the four of you are separate people, you guys are connected, and that's why DiZ's plan will work. And that's why you created _your_ plan, isn't it? To set things right?"_

Riku had squeezed her in his arms at that moment, and Naminé had nodded slightly, burying her had into his chest. Words couldn't even describe how much it meant to her for Riku to speak of her plan so positively, especially when he still had his own qualms about it.

"_If you're so worried about the whole darkness and light thing, don't be—there's always Twilight. The light before darkness, the darkness before light, that's what you are. That's something that needs to exist, too."_

The hooded head bent down so that his mouth was hovering by her ear.

"_And if you dare say the worlds don't need that, don't need you, then don't you dare try to deny _my_ need for you…or _her _need for him. You'll always have a place by my side, in my heart, Naminé."_

Choking back a sob, Naminé fell to her knees, wrapping her arms tighter around herself as if trying to relive the feeling of having Riku's strong, protective, reassuring arms around her.

Yes, after hearing that, especially from someone she cared for immensely, she had no reason to be as depressed as she was. But here she was, feelings even worse, if that was even possible. How did she deserve such kindness after everything she did, considering what she was? After a few moments, Naminé decided that maybe being this dejected was a part of her, but she declared to herself that one thing was for certain—

If not for her and Roxas, then certainly for Riku and Olette—

Her plan would not fail.

xoxoxoxox

"Damn that Naminé and her reckless behaviour!"

Riku closed his eyes and hid a shudder as DiZ pounded his fist angrily against one of the many monitors that curled around him. By now, he was used to bandaged-man's bad tempers, but the Destiny Islander liked the peace and silence that existed before the other man's outburst, and he really didn't feel like going out and buying more replacements for the equipment the older man destroyed during such times.

"Calm down," Riku said, though it sounded suspiciously close to an order.

If DiZ was irked by the command, he didn't show it, and instead followed it through. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before glaring at the corner of his peripheral vision towards the hooded figure that stood behind him. "…What did they talk about?" DiZ demanded in a low voice.

Sighing, wondering why he always had to do damage control, Riku crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him. "I got there before they started talking. Roxas didn't hear a thing."

DiZ remained silent as he stared at Riku for a moment longer before he returned his gaze back to the screens in front of him, a hand rising so that he could bite his thumb in thought. He was sure Riku and the witch was hiding something, but he also knew that neither could, nor would, endanger Sora's restoration. "Well, it doesn't matter now. No matter what they said, Naminé has no choice by to fulfill her duty. Roxas's fate cannot be changed, either. Even if he hears…"

The dark-skinned man trailed off, shaking his head as if chasing his unfinished thought away. "There is no where he can escape," DiZ finished, a sense of victory not there previously in the tone of his voice.

Riku chucked softly to himself, bowing his head so that the shadows created by his hood covered the small smirk dancing upon his lips. Yes, they would do their duty, and nothing Roxas would hear or do could change that.

However, what happened afterwards was an entirely different story.

And he couldn't wait to see the look on DiZ's face then.

xoxoxoxox

Sora was floating in what would've been a pitch-black abyss had it not been for the light ahead of him that lit his way. When the brunette emerged from it, he was now floating in a grand library, desperately trying to reach out to a small redheaded girl below him.

Despite everything he's been through, there was something odd about the situation. Roxas wasn't sure how he knew, but it didn't feel like it was one of Sora's personal memories; it was as if Sora was intruding on someone else's past. That, and the girl looked a lot like a younger version of the redheaded girl that frequented his dreams—and Sora hadn't met that girl until she was slightly older on Destiny Islands.

As if the dream had heard his thoughts, the small girl began to disappear, and an image of the girl flashed by before the scene changed.

Sora rushed to the unconscious redhead's side as Riku spoke, _"It's up to me."_

**Static.**

The keyblade shook in Sora's hand, as if it was trying to escape his hold. Its power was greater than Sora's, though, and in a sparkle of lights to disappeared from his hands and appeared in Riku's outstretched one, who was standing several feet across from them.

"_Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door and change the world__,"_ Riku continued explaining.

The scene jumped back to Sora lifting his unconscious female friend in his arms before it abruptly changed to a sinister-looking Riku, who flung a ball of energy towards his best friend who stood waiting for it alone, Goofy and Donald by Riku's side.

"_But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either,"_ Goofy declared, and darted over in front of Sora, using his shield to deflect the attack.

Donald soon ran over to join the other two. _"All for one and one for all."_

To Riku's surprise, the Keyblade disappeared from his hand in the same fashion it had left Sora, now returning to its original owner, who got into a fighting stance with Donald and Goofy following suit.

"_My friends are my power!"_ Sora yelled.

**Fizzle.**

Sora tried to shake the redheaded girl awake, but to no avail. Her smiling face flashed by again.

"_So, your heart won this battle,"_ a large beast said, and Sora turned around to nod, Riku nowhere to be found where he was standing in the room in the memory a moment earlier.

**Crack, fizzle, fizzle.**

A cloaked figure walked completely through Sora, and while neither seemed harmed by it, Sora fell onto him bottom, either from shock, the sensation of someone going through him, or both. The Keyblader quickly gathered his wits and turned to look at the person.

**Static.**

In an attack that resembled the one Riku had earlier thrown, Sora blocked a large wave of blue energy from the hooded figure, directing it towards the large ceilings above instead, where pieces of it came flying down around them as they stared intensely at one other.

**Static, code, fizzle.**

"_It is I, Ansem."_ The one who spoke looked like Riku, but the voice was a mixture of the platinum-haired boy's and someone who was older and darker, filled with evil intentions. _"Lead me into everlasting darkness!"_ he roared as he lowered his weapon to strike at a bowing Sora who clutched at his heart.

"_Sora!"_

It was the same situation, the same feeling. He had heard and felt it days before when he and his friends were practicing for the Tournament and Seifer had coerced him into a fight. Now he knew where it came from.

The redheaded girl's image passed by for only a second, and in the next Sora whipped his head upwards, the Keyblade blocking Riku's, or rather Ansem's, attack. _"Forget it!"_ Sora hissed, glaring at the eyes that belonged to his friend as their weapons pushed against each other in a deadlock.

"_There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!"_

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Roxas realized this was the first time that Sora was able to say the girl's full name without the memory cutting off before it finished, but before he could ponder the reason why the dream was already moving on.

Donald and Goofy threw their hands up in alarm, trying to stop Sora as he lifted Riku's abandoned weapon, smiling at them in reassurance. After the tip pierced his chest, a glowing heart entered Kairi's body, and she regained consciousness, only to see Sora falling backwards. She rushed to catch him before he hit the ground, but his body disappeared in a cascade of lights as soon as she touched him.

**Static, shift, fizzle.**

With a group of black little creatures with yellow eyes jumping towards her, Kairi turned around and hugged the same creature that stood behind her as if wanting to protect it—apparently Kairi knew there was something different with the creature she held compared to the ones that were going to attack. Donald and Goofy, who were busy fighting off other Heartless, turned when a shining pink light illuminated the rather dark room. When the sparkling lights receded, Sora held Kairi in his arms.

"_Kairi_," Sora whispered fondly.

The image of the redheaded girl that had always appeared in between the broken memories smiled and nodded silently, as if pleased that the spiky-styled brunette boy finally remembered her entirely.

**Static, code, static.**

"_We may never meet again,"_ Leon started as he uncrossed his arms,_"but we'll never forget each other."_

Beside him, Aerith nodded, lifting a hand to her heart. _"No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again."_

**Static, fizzle.**

Gingerly, Kairi grabbed Sora's right hand and placed something in it. _"__Take this,"_ she told him. The keyblader looked down at the object, noticing that it resembled a certain fruit. _"It's my lucky charm,"_ Kairi continued. _"Be sure to bring it back to me!"_ It was an order, and with the way she placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, she would not tolerate it not being followed.

Sora smiled, lightly closing his fingers around the charm. He knew what she really meant—'come back to me'. _"Don't worry. I will,"_ he replied, and they both knew that he didn't mean the charm.

Kairi, though, still wanted to make sure. _"Promise?"_

**Fizzle.**

As Sora lifted the keyblade to seal the keyhole in Hollow Bastion, Kairi's words echoed around him.

"_Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you._"

xoxoxoxox

A gasp escaped Roxas's lips as he woke up, and he took a quick glance around his room as if to make sure he was really awake and there. It felt like he was being pulled deeper into his dreams lately. Sometimes he'd feel like he'd want to wake up but couldn't, and other times he couldn't tell if he was still dreaming or not. A sigh was released this time after the blonde deemed he was truly awake, but a frown appeared on his lips as he remembered the details of what he had just woken up from.

Sitting himself up, Roxas situated his hands behind him so that he could lean against them instead of allowing his back to bear his weight. "Right…'promise'…" he murmured, remembering how he completely messed things up with his friends by accusing them of things that weren't their fault, especially when he didn't even bother to tell them what he was going through. And truthfully, he didn't think he'd be honest even if they asked him, which was probably why they didn't ask. Why bother if you know you'd be lied to? But they never ditched him, even when he lied to them (he still cringed at the memory of Olette's face during the festival) or yelled and accused them of things.

_Like yesterday…_

At the back of his mind, he wondered if Sora ever kept his promise, but he shook his head at the thought. This wasn't about Sora or his friends—it was about him and his own. And he, for one, _was_ going to keep his promise. Roxas lifted his right arm and made a couple of striking moves as if practicing with a foam bat before he groaned and rubbed the back of his head. He had to win and hope his friends forgave him. "What a mess…" There was a lot of work ahead of him, but he smiled inwardly—they were worth it. His sapphire gaze swept across his room again, widening as they landed upon his clock. In a flash, he jumped out of bed and ran to get ready.

Before he won, he had to actually _be_ there first.

xoxoxoxox

Despite the early hour (for a summer day, at least), the streets of Twilight Town were alive and buzzing with excitement. People crowded the pathways and gathered upon rooftops, wondering who was going to win and hoping for a good spot to watch the event. Most of the action was, of course, coming from the Sandlot, where the actual Struggle Tournament was taking place, and at the center of the hub was Pence and Olette. They came early together with Hayner to guarantee great seats, and were currently watching him from the sidelines as he stood with the other competitors.

Well, technically, only Pence was keeping an eye on Hayner as Olette's gaze flittered around constantly as if searching for something—or some_one_. Pence, finally unable to pretend not to notice the way she fiddled with the hem of her tank top, turned his head towards her and nudged her playfully.

"You're gonna run a hole in it, Letty," Pence chided lightly. The brunette girl ceased her movements but remained quiet. Smiling inwardly, the (slightly) chubby boy began counting down in his head, knowing that his best friend would start talking without having to be prompted by him.

"…Do you think he'll come?"

Bingo.

Pence didn't need to know who she meant by 'him'. It was obvious, after all. After Roxas had left yesterday, there was a tense silence before Hayner, too, took his leave without another word. Olette's shoulders had begun shaking then, and he held her as she cried. He wished he could've joked about it, even now, but there wasn't anything funny about their friendship being on the rocks.

Sighing, Pence shrugged and took a look around the Sandlot himself. "I dunno. You know Roxas—he couldn't be on time if his life depended on it," he tried to joke.

Olette didn't laugh, and instead continued as if he didn't say anything. "Roxas really didn't seem to remember about the Tournament yesterday. And he seemed so…_angry_ with us, like we were letting him down or something. I think…I think he's in trouble, Pence," she said worriedly, catching his eye and fixing him a serious stare.

The headband-wearing boy swallowed at the gravity of the girl's gaze. Olette was really taking this hard, and he'd never forgive Hayner or Roxas if they made her go through this for a trivial reason. "Well, I do believe Roxas when he said he wasn't with Seifer for fun…"

Making a non-committing sound, Olette moved her emerald gaze back out into the noisy crowd. Somehow, she felt like this was bigger than Seifer. "I'm just so worried about him. Did you know I found him passed out on the floor of the Usual Spot a few days ago?"

That caught Pence's attention. "You _what?_"

"I…I thought, since he's keeping something from us, that _I_ should keep that from him, but this isn't right. He needs his friends by his side; not sneaking around trying to dig up whatever it is he doesn't what us to know. Maybe we should call Roxas just in case, and tell Hayner that—"

Olette stopped and breathed as Pence turned her head so that she was focusing on him again. The expression on his face wasn't one she saw on his jokester's face often and it grounded her in an instant. "Chill, Letty, breathe. I know you have more faith in both Hayner and Roxas than that. Roxas may seem like a flake, but he'll never break a promise. And Hayner's more intuitive than you think—he won't let this ruin the four of us. BFFs, right?"

This time Olette laughed—it must've hurt Pence's 'manly pride' to even utter the acronym 'BFF'. "Mm, you're right. Thank you, Pence."

They smiled at each other before looking out at the stage.

"So…who you gonna root for?" Pence asked after a moment.

"Both of them, silly," she replied, humor clearly evident in her voice. Although they would cheer for both of their friends, they knew who they wanted to win—they bet lunch on it, two to one against Hayner, who had, of course, bet on himself.

xoxoxoxox

By the time Roxas reached the Sandlot, the referee slash announcer had already gathered the constants around to explain the rules, a mandatory yet needless task, so he had no time to talk to Hayner before the tournament began as he had hoped. Apologizing as he squeezed into the huddle, he continuously tried to catch his best friend's gaze, but the other seemed determined to flat out ignore him. By the time the talk was over Roxas was sighing, his dejected attitude a complete opposite of the cheery atmosphere that surrounded him, one that got even more hyped up as fireworks exploded in the sky. He tried to cheer himself up, though, as the announcer moved to center stage to address the audience—all he had to do was win, and he could settle things afterward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, battle freaks of Twilight Town!" the announcer started as the crowd's noise level dropped slightly to hear what was being said. "It's time for summer's most sizzling clash! That's right! Today is the day for the Struggle Battle title match! Our participants are four hooligans who have 'struggled' their way through the preliminaries last week!" The crowd laughed at the play on words that was used—even the announcer couldn't help but laugh at his own joke. "Let's give them all a big round of applause for getting this far!"

Everyone clapped and cheered, with Olette and Pence trying to make the most noise out of excitement that Roxas did indeed show up.

"Good luck you two!" Olette yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth for more volume. Roxas, upon hearing her, turned towards her direction and smiled lightly, doing a small wave in thanks—at least not all of his friends were still angry with him, though he wasn't holding it against Hayner, either.

"So who will be the one to break through the ranks and win the Four Crystal Trophy, as well as a chance to take on the reigning champion, Setzer? And who will leave today as our new Struggle Champion?"

"Seifer, y'know?" Rai yelled at the rhetorical question the announcer posed.

Olette and Pence, in sync like twins, glanced at the muscled teen that stood with the rest of the other Disciplinary Committee across the stage from them before they shouted, "Hayner! Roxas!"

"Setzerrrrrr!" fans of the man screamed, which prompted a chant of his name as the man in question held up the championship belt from his place near the stage.

Laughing, the announcer held up his hand to calm the crowd down. "All right! You guys are all fired up, so you know what comes next: Let's…"

"STRUGGLE" The crowd finished the sentence, which was followed by more exploding fireworks.

After taking a look at the board at the back of the lot as the competitors went to get suited up with headgear and a vest covered in balls, the announcer came back to center stage, carrying two foam bats. "The first match will be Roxas versus Hayner! These two are the best of friends. Will they be able to keep a rift from breaking apart their friendship…?!"

The two people in question looked momentarily shocked, but Hayner quickly gathered his wits and stepped forward to claim a bat, soon followed by a solemn Roxas. It was ironic how the announcer thought the Struggle battle would cause a rift between them—with a rift already existing, the blonde boy hoped the fight would actually _bring_ them _together_.

"Whoever can knock the most balls off his opponent within the time limit is the winner!"

With that, the announcer patted both boys on the back before retreated to the sidelines. The horn sounded, stating that the time has started, but neither of them had even moved a muscle. Hayner, finally, had looked Roxas in the eye now that they were face to face, but what Roxas saw there didn't make him feel any better—he knew that this was when he had to step up, but it was easier said than done. How could he knock down someone who was already down because of him?

Olette and Pence watched with increasing worry as Roxas's gaze began to drop, and Hayner's grip on his bat tightened before he held it up and pointed it directly as his best friend.

"Oi, get ready!" Hayner said roughly. "Or are you not even going to do it?" _Honestly, what did you come here for if you're just going to stand there, Roxas?_The leader of their group of four was angry, though probably not entirely for the reason Roxas was assuming.

Roxas flinched despite himself, slowly raising his gaze to meet Hayner's again. "…sorry…I…yesterday…" God, he couldn't even say a proper sentence! As he closed his eyes and shook his head, Roxas missed seeing Hayner getting more and more upset. He didn't even know what hit him until he was on the ground, a few balls short, and Hayner towering above him, huffing from the effort.

"Uh-oh! Hayner makes a preemptive strike!"

"Yesterday?" Hayner scoffed as he rested his bat on his right shoulder, trying to ignore the bewildered expression on Roxas's face. "I went to sleep and forgot all about that stuff!"

That only confused the attacked boy even more. "Then what's with all this sulking?!"

An annoyed _and_ angry look dominated Hayner's features now, though whether it was because he was called out on it or because of the use of the term 'sulking', Roxas wasn't sure. He didn't have time to ponder on it, either, as Hayner came at him again—but he was prepared this time and dodged all of the other's strikes.

"I just can't stand you acting so stupid right before a match!"

It was Roxas's turn to look annoyed. "That's not what this is really about, is it? You're just really mad, aren't you?" _About yesterday._

"Of course I am! You're not telling me anything—I thought we were best friends!"

The comment caused Roxas to pause a second too long, allowing Hayner to connect a rather hard blow on him that not only brought back down to the ground, but made him lose 90% of the balls attached to his outfit.

"Oh-_ho_! What a powerful blow!"

The announcer's words bounced off the two combatants as if nothing had boomed over the loud speakers. "Olette and Pence are worried, too. They thought something must've happened to get you seriously upset like that," Hayner continued, looking down at the fellow blonde as the other rubbed his cheek.

As if to contradict his words, Olette and Pence's cheers for Roxas specifically carried through the rest of the crowd's noise, though in their defense they didn't know what was being said up on stage.

"…Don't you trust us?" Hayner finished with a whisper.

Lowering the hand that was rubbing his cheek, Roxas closed his eyes, absorbing the care and love, as cheesy as it sounded, that he could feel from his friends. He wanted to protect them by keeping them in the dark, but they were still in danger and now didn't even know why. Roxas was going about everything the wrong way. He had said it and heard it before—his friends were his strength. Smiling outwardly, Roxas made a decision.

"Thank you."

And with that, Roxas struck.

As the ball-less Hayner landed sprawled on the stage face up, the bell rang. "Oooh, now the time is up!" the announcer said as he appeared on stage again, watching the helpers count not only the balls strewn across the lot, but what was left on each competitors vest and headgear. "What's the official ball count?"

"Are you okay?" Roxas asked his best friend as he loomed over the other while they waited for the results. He knew he hit him pretty hard, considering the other didn't have a single ball on him.

Hayner was silent for a while, wincing as he moved to take off his headgear, but when he was free, he smirked up at the fellow blonde-haired boy. "Feeling better?" Nothing relaxed a person like letting it out physically, and considering he was on the ground feeling sore, Hayner was pretty sure Roxas let it _all_ out.

Chuckling, Roxas rubbed the back of his neck. "Better." He held out a hand to help Hayner up as the announcer approached them with the results.

"And the winner is Roxas!" The man raised Roxas's arm as the crowd cheered, and Roxas couldn't help but get caught up in the moment, waving to everyone with his free hand. "Not even friendship will slow this kid down! And Hayner put up a great fight, too, for his first trip to the finals." By the time Roxas returned his gaze to his friend, the other had his shoulders slumped.

"Aww, man, but now _I_ don't feel so good!" Hayner exclaimed. After thanking the announcer slash shopkeeper and insuring him that the skateboard gift was well received, Roxas walked over to his best friend and wrapped a sympathetic arm around the other's shoulders, both not paying particular attention when the competitors for the next match were announced. "Those guys were betting on our fight with our lunches…" Hayner continued, gesturing to Pence and Olette as they held up Hayner's lost food.

Roxas laughed at the sight before the sound trailed off as he became lost in thought. _They bet on me even though it wasn't sure I was even going to show up? No…to them, there was never a doubt. They believed in me…just like how I should believe in them._ Sliding his arm off Hayner's shoulders, Roxas nudged the other playfully. "Don't worry; I think I can sway them to share."

"Out of the way!"

The two blondes turned around to look in the direction of the new voice that interrupted them, only half-surprised to see that it was Seifer. Although they didn't hear the next fight being announced earlier, only Seifer would barge around as if he owned the place.

"You in a rush to lose?" Hayner taunted as he moved towards the stairs to get off the stage.

The leader of the disciplinary committee didn't answer, seemingly too busy scowling at Roxas. Roxas narrowed his eyes, ready to start something if need be until he noticed Seifer's gaze was a little off. Blinking, he looked to his side and jumped when he saw Vivi standing right beside him. _So that's who Seifer was staring at. But when did Vivi…_ Roxas froze as the kid looked up at him and chuckled almost darkly. The sound raised goosebumps on his skin. _Was Vivi always like this?_

"Yo, Roxas, let's go," Hayner called, catching his attention. By the time Roxas returned his gaze to the shorter kid, Vivi was looking at Seifer.

"Yeah…" Roxas answered distractedly, shaking his head as he ran to catch up, leaving the two new competitors alone on the stage. _So weird…_

"Don't mess with your elders," Seifer said to Vivi in a tone that promised lots of pain if it wasn't carried out.

The announcer quickly made his way off stage as well, as if he could feel there was something serious going on but wasn't sure what it was. "Whew, just look at those sparks fly! I guess Seifer didn't expect to fight one of his own boys!"

Tension hung heavily in the air until the bell rang, signaling the start of the match, and without missing a beat Vivi flew at Seifer, who jumped away, though Vivi was in hot pursuit.

"When did Vivi get so tough?" Hayner asked in amazement as the two of them joined Pence and Olette. The other three shook their heads and shrugged in silent response, completely astounded as they watched Seifer struggle to fight Vivi.

"We _did_ leave the preliminaries early last week, though," Pence offered. "Maybe we missed something."

xoxoxoxox

Elsewhere, far from the cheering crowd in the Sandlot, Riku tiredly yet determinedly entered the Pod Room of the Old Mansion, having just finished his own battle that had a lot more at stake than a trophy and some bragging rights. It was there, standing silently in front of Sora, where Naminé found him minutes later after finding out he had returned from his sudden departure following an impromptu meeting with DiZ.

"Have they come?" she asked rather rhetorically as she slowly made her way towards him. Only the XIII Order could start a panic with DiZ and worry Riku like that.

"Yeah…" was the low reply, only audible by the fact that no other noise was present in the room.

When she reached his side, cerulean eyes took the sight of him in, instantly noticing the tear in Riku's right sleeve and the red gash that could be seen through it. "You're hurt…" She reached a hand out but he swiftly moved out of her range by only a step, his amber eyes never leaving Sora. Naminé lowered her hand and frowned slightly—she hated when Riku would treat his needs secondary to everything else.

"It's just a scratch," the taller of the two offered as explanation for his evasiveness. After a pause, Riku went on to say that must've been on his mind for sometime. "The number of the invading Nobodies is increasing. We can't hesitate."

Naminé's eyes became downcast for a moment before she, too, looked up at Sora. "I know. Just a little longer…" _For all of us._

Meanwhile, down the hall, several rooms away, the words 'Target Lost' blinked upon the main screen in front of DiZ. He slammed a fist against it in frustration. "Those damn vermin. He's hidden from the program? Tch, don't think my eyes will be deceived by your inferior skill," he hissed before returning to work.

xoxoxoxox

No one in the Town noticed the brief numeric digital code that encompassed the surrounding buildings as all attention was on center stage, where Seifer flew to the ground as the buzzer sounded.

"I-I'm not sure what just happened..." the announcer started, disbelief evident in his face as the final count on the balls was given to him, "But...uh...the winner is Vivi! Seifer is brought down, and Vivi makes it to the finals!"

"Seifer!" Rai cried from the sidelines as Seifer sat up, shaking his head from the disorientation. Even if they were on the same side, Vivi should've thrown the match for their leader, right? That was what he would've done, anyway.

"Whoa, that Vivi really did it," Hayner muttered, watching the little mage laugh as Seifer pulled himself up and walked off the stage. "Don't get caught unprepared, Roxas."

Roxas could only nod in awe, moving his gaze from Vivi to the stomping Disciplinary Committee leader as he made his way around the stage towards the exit on their side of the Sandlot, Fuu and Rai running after him.

"Seifer, there's still third place, y'know!" Rai reminded.

"Like I care!" the beanie-wearing teen hissed back.

Hayner and Pence tried to hold back their laughter as Seifer neared, though were unable to when they saw how beat up the blonde male was. Their rival just lost to a kid who was supposed to be on the same team? Priceless.

"You sure got owned, huh, Mr. Leader?" Hayner taunted.

"_Shut it_," Seifer warned in a low voice before stopping briefly in front of Roxas. "That's not Vivi."

Although Seifer didn't bother to turn and look at him, Roxas could tell that the other wasn't just saying that to save face—he was dead serious about the Vivi on the stage being an imposter.

"Trash him."

And with that, Seifer and company left the Sandlot without looking back.

"What did he mean?" Olette wondered aloud as she watched their retreating backs. "Who else could it be but Vivi?"

"Maybe he's just saying that because he's been totally humiliated," Pence offered with a shrug, taking a bite out of his hotdog.

Roxas's eyes narrowed, turning to look at Vivi who remained on stage waiting for the next match, unnerved that the pointy-hat-wearing boy was staring straight back at him. He hated to admit it, but he could understand what Seifer meant—something was definitely off about Vivi. Reluctantly, as if it was dangerous to take his eyes of him, Roxas moved his gaze to the announcer he ran off stage and approached his group of friends.

"It looks like Seifer's withdrawn from the Struggle tournament for third place," the announcer informed them, though he was looking at Hayner when he said it.

"So I'm in third now?" Hayner asked excitedly. It wasn't the most 'noble' way of winning by default, but hey, a win was a win, and the spiky blonde was going to take it. "All right!" he exclaimed, high-fiving his three best friends.

The announcer smiled slightly and nodded before looking at Roxas. "You better get up on stage. The final match will start soon."

"Good luck, Roxas!" Olette said, giving him two thumbs up.

"You got it in the bag!" Hayner assured him as Pence quickly massaged his shoulders.

"Thanks guys," Roxas said before trekking on stage. After gearing up, he walked over to where the announcer and Vivi was, accepting the bat that was handed to him.

"I expect fair play from both of you," the announcer reminded sternly before turning to the crowd. "Well then, these are the two who have advanced to the final round: Vivi and Roxas! Which one of them will be left standing?"

It was hard to make out anything with the crowd yelling different things, but for the blonde-haired combatant, he could hear his friends cheering for him the clearest, and Roxas smiled over at them before he felt something strike him across the head.

"Uh-oh! Before the start of the match is even signaled, a pre-emptive strike comes from Vivi!"

"Aaaah! That was dirty!" Pence yelled as Hayner and Olette watched on worriedly.

Roxas was barely able to stabilize himself before Vivi was attacking him again. Though he was able to block the next few attacks, it came at such a force that it pushed him back.

"What an unimaginable fierce move for such a small child!"

'_That's not Vivi.'_ That was what Seifer had said. _No way!_ Roxas thought as he continued to defend.

Hayner made fists out of both hands as he watched his best friend struggle to keep afloat. "C'mon, Roxas! This is the _championship match_! Concentrate!"

Gasping as Hayner's words echoed inside of him, Roxas held onto them, gathering his resolve. _That's right. I'm so close. I didn't come this far just to lose! Real Vivi or not, I'm winning this fight!_ Jumping back to avoid another attack, he planted his back foot down solidly before pushing off it, springing forward to make his first offensive attack. As he pulled his bat back to strike, he noticed that the Sandlot had gotten deathly quiet, and before he could land a hit, a whirling wind had surrounded Vivi, causing his strike to bounce off.

"What?" Roxas stepped back, looking around as he found the cause for the silence—everything and everyone was frozen. "This again?" He looked back at Vivi as the wind died away, revealing a Dusk in the child's place, and then another three popped up around the stage. Whirling around, he checked it make sure his friends were safe, though knew they wouldn't be for long—four against one wasn't good odds, especially with the ineffective weapon he was yielding.

As if hearing his thoughts, in a shimmering array of lights, his foam bat disappeared, and he held a keyblade in his hands instead. "Again…" he whispered, half relieved and half dejected. He was glad he was going to be able to protect those who were important to him, but why did it always have to happen to him?

Using his frustration and fierce protectiveness as his fuel, Roxas moved swiftly to defeat all of the white beings that had appeared on stage with him. It was strange, though- they wouldn't attack him unless he went at them. It was as if they were there to make sure he didn't leave, and would leave him alone otherwise. The blonde wasn't going to take any chances, though, and he breathed in heavily when he had finished clearing the stage, feeling extremely tired as the adrenaline left his system.

But something was wrong. Time was still frozen all around him. Did he miss one?

Roxas jerked as he heard clapping coming from behind him, and he turned to see a hooded figure in a long black robe standing several paces away. "Finally we're able to meet again, Roxas. And you're still as good a fighter as I remember," the man, going by his deep tone, said as he began walking towards the Keyblade bearer. The blonde boy tensed as he neared but didn't say anything, and it confused the hooded man.

"I had to go through a lot of trouble to get here, y'know! You can at least say something," the unknown man continued, eyeing Roxas before grabbing the boy's helmet and staring at it before tossing it away. The sharp intake of breath from the shorter male didn't go undetected by him, but he chose to forgo that detail for a more interesting one. "What is this all about?" the man asked curiously, motioning at the odd attire of the boy. When Roxas continued being unresponsive, the hooded figure sighed and put a hand on his hip. "Wipe that stupid look off your face," he half-growled, annoyed.

Finally snapping out of his panicked daze by the insult, Roxas jumped back to put some space between them and growled himself. "Are you the guy who took Olette's munny pouch?" he demanded. It seemed it was the other's turn to be silent, for he received no answer. "Who are you!" Roxas yelled.

The hooded man raised both of his hands in front of his chest in a defensive gesture, as if he could stop the verbal attack with a physical action. "Hey, hey, what are you saying? It's me, Axel." He then moved his hands to pull down his hood, revealing flaming red hair.

"Axel?" Roxas repeated in a harsh yet confused tone, wondering why the guy said it as if he should have known the other. Yet the name did leave him with an odd feeling...

"Tch," Axel muttered at the lack of recognition as he twisted his head to the side. "Talk about blank with a capital 'B'. I guess the reports were right. Man oh man, not even the Dusks are gonna be able to crack this one." Lifting his hands slightly from his sides, large fiery chakrams appeared out of nowhere. "Guess I've got no choice then," he finished, the words sounding dangerous and threatening as he gripped his weapons.

Fear welled up in Roxas's eyes and he backed up a couple of more steps. "W-wait a sec, what's going on?!"

The blonde male never got an answer though as Axel rushed towards him and sliced through the air mere inches in front of his face. Roxas managed to dodge that attack, along with a couple of others after that, but before he could question _why_ he could parry Axel's attacks or consider an offensive attack of his own, Roxas found himself hitting the ground hard with only the Keyblade between him and one the sharp spokes of the redhead's chakram.

"Come home," Axel said in almost a whisper before his eyes hardened slightly and strength made it back into his voice. "Number XIII of the Order, Roxas. 'The Keyblade's Chosen One'."

An invisible force swirled around the stage, unnoticed by the two on the actual platform. Back in the Old Mansion, DiZ grinned devilishly as the words 'Target Found' blinked rapidly on the screen. "Found you," he mused triumphantly.

Roxas struggled to find the words to correctly convey his utter bewilderment. "What was that...I'm...you're wrong..."

Seeing the lost and helpless look in his partner's eyes, Axel loosened the pressure he was putting on the Keyblade. Its wielder, whose confusion was slowly turning into anger, pushed up in order to be freed completely. Number VII of the Order allowed it and got to his feet, watching as Roxas stood up as well. He gave the boy a few seconds before he sighed and hefted one of his chakrams over his shoulders. "So then what's that you've got in your hand?"

Slowly, Roxas glanced down at the keyblade he held in his hand. The longer he stared at it, the more the anger bubbled inside of him. It was _this_, _this_ was ruining his life. He numbly realized at the back of his head that the weapon he welded didn't do Sora any good, either, if his dreams were anything to go by. "This _thing_," Roxas spat out, gripping it tightly, "who knows!"

He slammed the keyblade to the ground, hearing it make contact with a loud 'clank', and watched it bounce and slide away from the momentum. Shortly after, though, Roxas began to feel a sensation his hand, and in an array of lights the keyblade reappeared in his grip. Wide blue eyes stared down at the object that he had just thrown away, his heart beating fast at the implications of it returning to him meant.

Taking the blonde's shocked silence as a decent enough acceptance to his words, Axel readjusted his stance, readying to leave. "There's no point in _overstaying_ here, right? You've figured it out, haven't you? This town, it's _his_ creati-"

The sound of running data and the swirl of code behind Roxas caused the redhead to stop, and he glared and lowered his hand from his shoulder to prepare himself for combat. "Tch, and here he comes," he muttered.

Roxas turned around as the code disappeared, revealing a man so heavily dressed in red material that you could only barely make out the other's right eye. The fifteen-year-old jumped slightly as two flaming chakram's flew past him and towards the new mysterious being, but the attack was deemed ineffective as the weapons simply bounced off an invisible shield and returned to its owner.

As if his life wasn't just threatened, the man dressed in red turned his attention to Roxas calmly. "Roxas, this man speaks nonsense. Open your eyes and stop dreaming."

"...Dream?" Roxas repeated, feeling chilled to the bone as if death had just walked past him.

Axel growled and faced his best friend. "Roxas, don't let him deceive you! Come back with me!"

"Weren't you in the midst of a match, Roxas? Aren't you going to become the champion?" DiZ continued unperturbed.

"Shut _up_!" Axel yelled, but before any questionably child-friendly words could escape his mouth, he found himself beginning to disappear into code. _What...damn it!_

Inwardly pleased that he was able to quiet the XIII Order member, DiZ took a small step forward and gracefully gestured towards the still frozen-in-time Hayner, Olette and Pence. "Roxas, should you really give up on a promise you made to your best friends?"

"Promise..." the blonde boy reiterated, numbly watching as the keyblade changed back into a foam bat.

_As if a bunch of copies are his real friends_, Axel thought angrily to himself. "Roxas! Remember who your _real_ best friend is!"

DiZ smirked as Axel was rapidly being disintegrated into code, and made one last comment before the other disappeared completely. "I will never give Roxas to you of the XIII Order."

With that, DiZ disappeared himself, leaving Roxas alone on the Struggle stage. "What...just happened..." he breathed out to himself, his heart still beating wildly amongst the complete stillness of the area around him. Slowly, he glanced around, his eyes instantly falling upon his best friends, frozen in the middle of whatever actions they had been doing before the dream started.

_Dream...this most definitely has to be a dream._

"Hayner...Pence...Olette... Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas started off in a whisper before he shouted at the top of his lungs.

_Sora, Riku, Kairi...friends I don't know. An island, strange fruits...a place I don't know. In the dreams, I lose myself— become another person...in a world where I don't matter._

_"The only one who can seal the door to the worlds is the hero who wields the keyblade."_

_I don't know._

_"Roxas, do you remember your true name?"_

_I don't know._

_"Come home, Number XIII of the Order, Roxas. The one chosen by the keyblade."_

_I'm just dreaming._

"Roxas! Hey, snap out of it!"

Feeling himself being shaken, Roxas opened the eyes he didn't realize he had closed, shutting the mouth that had been open in a scream he couldn't remember doing. Hayner stood in front of him, the fellow blonde's hands on his shoulders where he had been shaken back to reality with. Pence and Olette stood on either side of Hayner, looking both confused and worried.

"Huh? You guys..." Roxas started, sounding just as confused as his friends looked.

Hayner raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you dreaming? Look, you're the champion!" He picked up crystal trophy from the ground where he had placed it down prior to shaking Roxas and placed it in his best friend's hands.

The match between Roxas and Vivi had ended so fast no one really knew what had happened. One second the two were battling it out and then the next Vivi was lying on the ground and Roxas was standing in the middle of the stage like a shocked statue. When his friend had made no move to accept his reward after his name was announced, Hayner had gone up to get it from the equally puzzled announcer.

Gingering, Roxas held onto the trophy, looking around the now lively Sandlot. His sapphire gaze rested on the sitting Vivi, who was rubbing his head and looking around as if he wasn't sure what had happened or how he had gotten there.

_Dreaming..._

Out of the corner of his eye, Roxas noticed a figure in a long, black-hooded coat leaning against the wall near where the concession stand was and felt his blood freeze. Before he could blink and make sure, though, a helmet was patted onto his head by Hayner, pushing his hair into his eyes. By the time he had lifted it from obstructing his view, whatever he may or may not have seen was no longer there when he looked again.

"Roxas...?" Olette asked gently, noticing how distraught Roxas was. She followed his gaze, but when she found nothing she returned her eyes back to him.

"What's up?" Pence questioned lightly, wondering why their friend didn't seem as happy as he should be about winning the trophy.

Taking one last look at where he thought he had saw someone, Roxas shook his head and forced a smile at his friends. "...Nah, it's nothing."

"Setzer! Setzer! Setzer!" the crowd began cheering as last year's champion strode onto the stage.

Tsking, Hayner turned his back on the guy and focused on Roxas. "Win the title match, too! Tear that huge belt right off him!"

Frowning slightly at Hayner for pushing more responsibility on a clearly preoccupied Roxas, even after he had already fulfilled their promise, Olette smiled warmly at the shorter blonde. She grasped the trophy from the other as Pence moved in to prepare Roxas for the final battle. "Don't push yourself too much, okay, Roxas? We won't be upset if you don't win this one."

"Though we won't be upset if you win, either," Pence chuckled, patting his friend heartily on the back before the three of them scampered off to watch from their place in the sidelines.

Seeing that the two combatants were ready, the announcer approached them for some final words. "Play fair now, you two. You're at the top of the bracket. May the best man win!"

"There's only room for one up here," Setzer said in a low voice as the announcer walked off. He turned towards Roxas, lifting the foam bat to rest against the crook of his shoulder and neck. "Hey, Rucksack. How about you throw the match for me?"

"Roxas! Focus!" Hayner yelled.

Olette cupped her hands as best she could around the trophy to amplify her voice. "Try your best, Roxas! You can do it!"

"You got this, Roxas!" Pence hollered.

The said boy glanced at his friends, their voices seeming infinitely louder than the rest of the crowd. His friends, who were always on his side, getting him out of whatever situation he found himself in...

"Let me win, and I'll make it worth your while," Setzer continued, smirking.

...And this guy wanted him to sully that by throwing the competition?

Roxas glared at Setzer and got into a fierce fighting stance, his mind no longer foggy or confused. If he focused on his friends, nothing else mattered. "Get real! And my name is _Roxas_," he corrected the older man for his earlier comment, though somewhere deep inside he felt he was answering Naminé's question that she had asked him yesterday as well— _"Do you remember your _true _name?"_

Setzer glowered darkly before getting into a fighting position as well. "Then I shall show you what they call the harshness of reality!"

The bell rang, and the two charged at each other with a battle cry.

xoxoxoxox

The wind from the top of the Clock Tower felt refreshing to the four teens who sat at its edge. The Sandlot had been crowded, stuffy and sweaty, and being in a roomy area with just the four of them was the perfect ending to a hectic and busy day.

"Hey, put it on right!" Hayner said disapprovingly, moving behind Roxas to adjust the championship belt perfectly around Roxas's waist.

Olette and Pence giggled as Hayner's fussy attitude and Roxas's embarrassed expression. "It suits you, _new champion_," they said to Roxas in cheery unison as Hayner moved back to his seat in between Pence and Olette.

Roxas felt like if he smiled any bigger his face would crack in two. Holding the crystal trophy in front of him, he began to pull off one at a time. He tossed the emerald one to Pence, who fumbled with it before grasping it tightly, the ruby one to Hayner, who caught it with one hand expertly, and gently gave the topaz colored one to Olette, who gave him a smile and gaze that was heavy in emotion.

Taking the last sapphire crystal for himself, Roxas held it out in front of him so it caught the eternal sun's light just right. "As promised," he said with accomplishment, watching as his friends held out their crystals as well.

"Thanks a ton, Roxas!" Pence exclaimed happily.

"One more treasure for us to share," Hayner said softly, though the wind blew the words into all of their ears.

"Let's make a toast!" Olette said, twisting around to open her bag, pulling out four wrapped sea salt ice cream popsicles.

"Sweet, ice cream!"

"Thanks a lot, Olette!"

The brunette girl grinned and held up her popsicle. "To Roxas, and our friendship that can and will get through anything!"

"To Roxas and our friendship!" the other three chorused, and a peaceful and comfortable silence fell upon them as they ate their treats.

Roxas watched his friends as they ate, feeling completely at ease and wondering how he could question or doubt any of this. He held up his crystal again, in awe of how beautiful something so simple was. _These are the friends I know, the place I know, the world I belong in..._

"Ah, ah, Roxas! Your ice cream!" Pence exclaimed in alarm.

Looking down, Roxas noticed that his ice cream was melting steadily when he was immersed in his thoughts, and it had almost completely slid off the stick. On instinct, he leaned forward to try and slide it back down the stick, and felt his heart stop as he found himself following the falling ice cream.

_"__**Roxas!**__"_ Olette screamed, and Roxas stared with wide eyes as the terrified faces of his friends became further and further way.

_So high...I wonder if I'll die. It's funny. I don't seem to be hitting the ground... What's happening to me? Olette's voice...this falling feeling...it feels like that first dream I had before all this craziness started..._

_"His voice always used to be there...but now it's gone. I can't think of his face, or his name. I feel awful about it. So I told myself—I'm not going to the island until I remember everything about him."_

_That voice...it sounds like... "Naminé...? Naminé, what's happening to me?" _

_"...Who are you? And that's not my name. I'm Kairi."_

_"Kairi...? I know you. You're that girl he likes. That's weird, you're here. Is this a dream?"_

_"Huh? It could be...but wait! Who's 'he'? Please, a name!"_

_"I'm Roxas."_

_"Okay, Roxas, but can you tell me _his_ name?"_

_"You don't remember my name?"_ a voice outside of Roxas had said, popping in and answering as if it had always been around, listening._"Thanks a lot, Kairi! Okay, I guess I can give you a hint. Starts with an 'S'!"_

That was all Roxas knew before his world went black.

xoxoxoxox

"Are you okay?" Selphie asked as Kairi stirred from her sudden fainting spell. One minute she was trying to convince her friend to go to the island and the next Kairi was laying on the ground.

Holding onto her head, Kairi nodded and slowly got to her feet, staring at the island in the distance. The redheaded girl wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but thanks to that Roxas kid she finally remembered what had been troubling her for months.

Kairi's wide smile at Selphie was all the warning her brunette friend got before she was racing off towards the beach's shoreline that was across from the separate island.

When Selphie had finally caught up, she saw her friend releasing a bottle into the water. She stopped to catch her breath before running over to Kairi's side. "Kairi? What's wrong? What was that? It's wrong to pollute the beach, you know!"

"It's a letter..." Kairi started, too much in an euphoric mood to take Selphie's reprimanding too seriously. With a heavily emotional gaze, she watched the tide take the bottle with her letter in it farther and farther away.

"I wrote it yesterday, to the boy I can't remember," she went on, almost speaking to herself. " I said that no matter where he is... I'll find him. One day. And when I stopped writing, I remembered we made a promise, something important. This letter is where it starts. I know it."

Selphie glanced at her friend before watching the bottle leave their sight completely. "Wow...but...you don't even remember his name, right? And you have no address to put on it... Will he get it?"

Kairi's deep cerulean eyes sharpened in determination. "He will. Because I remembered his name. Starts with an 'S'. Right, Sora?"

_Restoration at 79%._

Two more days until complete memory restoration.


	13. Seven Wonders

** author' s notes:** Guess who's back~! I recently got really inspired to finish this chapter, so consider this an early Christmas present! (On that note, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!) The next chapter is going to be huge as it's the last day before Sora wakes up; the manga had a lot of extra scenes I want to incorporate, so please continue reading and look forward to that!

Thanks to Phyxrgon, ratluva16, norwaydude13, im-a-tumor, Animekittenofdeath, Purple Ninja Tempy, Chief Chilly and The Three Kings for adding my story to your favorites! If I missed anyone, I'm sorry! I try to keep those e-mail alerts in my inbox. As for the anonymous reviews:

Anon – That you so very much. I'm completely overjoyed that you not only love the story, but the pairings as well! I really came to like Seifer and Olette, haha.

Phyxrgon – Yeah, DiZ/Ansem was unnecessarily crude to Roxas and Naminé, and all Nobodies. But karma will definitely get him back! As for Birth by Sleep, and all the other games in the KH series not on the console (i.e. handheld) I don't ever plan on playing personally. I did, though, research and spoil myself about what's been going on, and have made notes as to what I can include in my story. It'll definitely have a bigger impact on this story's sequel, but Ventus and friends will be involved.

* * *

**Chapter XIII:** Seven Wonders

DiZ didn't try to hide the smirk, that was dangerously close to being a full on smile, that spread across his face as he studied the screens detailing the stats of Sora. "His progress is astounding," he whispered in awe.

As always, Riku stood behind him, his face hidden in the shadows of his raised hood. Today he was tossing a blue crystal up and down; one that looked much like the one Roxas had won in yesterday's tournament. "...So, what happened?" Riku inquired in the voice that was not his own, catching the orb one last time before pulling out Olette's munny pouch and placing it gently inside. It only added to the growing pile of stolen goods that he seemed to be collecting from the blonde boy and his friends as of late.

"Naminé's encounter with Roxas put his heart in contact with Kairi's. And that, in turn, affected Sora. You see?"

Although he was staring at the same screens DiZ was, Riku couldn't make sense of any of it, and he was glad that the older man was in a forthcoming mood to explain it to him in simplest terms now that things were going the way he wanted it. _To think that Naminé had something to do with what happened...she has more power than I could even imagine. Maybe her plan isn't so far off after all._

"Naminé..." Riku wondered aloud. "She sure is something."

"She wasn't born like other Nobodies. She can interfere with the hearts and memories of Sora and those aligned with him," DiZ answered freely again, truly in a euphoric state or perhaps too busy with the computers to care what he was now divulging so easily.

Everyone, that is, except his. Riku was able to keep his memories, perhaps because he had opted out on Naminé's offer for her to go into his mind, into his memories, but her work with reconstructing Sora affected him in another way—not being able to feel Sora, their connection. The platinum-haired teen craved to ask why, but did not want to tell DiZ of Naminé's other apparent abilities if the man did not know of it already. So instead, he found himself asking something else that had been on his mind since he had first met the blonde witch.

"But whose Nobody is she?" The silver-haired male knew that Naminé_reminded_ him of Kairi, he knew that Kairi _had_ lost her heart, and he knew that the four of them, his two best friends and these two special Nobodies, were connected somehow, but he never confirmed it. How completely insensitive would it be to ask Naminé that? If he knew for sure, Riku was positive he could be more confident in what he did and what he said to Naminé.

There was a slight pause, and he knew he found a subject that DiZ would not answer as freely as the others. "I _could_ tell you..." the red-bandaged man began, slowly turning his head to look at Riku. "But first...perhaps you could tell me your _true_ name?" For DiZ, if he was going to release that sort of information, he wanted something of equal value in return, and he knew that this was the one thing Riku would never give him. Ever since Riku had returned from retrieving Roxas nearly two weeks ago, looking and sounding different, older, the sixteen-year-old decided to go by a new name, a new identity. If the boy could be honest with himself, than DiZ could be honest with him.

Riku hesitated before he steeled himself and pulled down his hood. "It's Ansem," he answered in the deepest, menacing voice he could muster.

DiZ stared at 'Ansem' for a long moment, feeling slightly disappointed, before he looked away and laughed heartily. No one was aware, but he knew the real Ansem before, and to see the kid try to act as evil and horrible as _that_ man made him want to laugh and cry at the same time— and he outwardly chose laugh.

"It's an honor, Ansem."

xoxoxoxox

He was falling, falling through a dark, endless abyss, and he was going to die—

Roxas gasped loudly, narrowly suppressing a scream as he woke up. He breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath, and his blonde spiky hair cut through the air around his head as he looked around for the ground that he was sure to hit. As his heartbeat slowed to normal, though, he realized he was in his room, safe and sound.

"I'm dreaming..." he muttered after a big sigh, dejectedly relieved. The new Struggle champion was glad he didn't fall to his death but... _That dream wasn't like the others,_ Roxas thought to himself. It wasn't broken pieces of memories or flashbacks of a life he didn't live, but that girl was there..._Kairi__._ Did he really speak to her?

"Which parts...were the dream?" Roxas asked allowed, and wasn't surprised when no answer was given in response.

xoxoxoxox

The sound of the train passing over the Usual Spot, where the four best friends were gathered, filled the silence that had settled over them as Olette stared down at Hayner, her arms crossed and her foot tapping against the ground. Roxas had entered in a daze, still thinking about what may or may not have happened the day before, and only barely caught something about homework before he sat down and brooded again.

"There's only three days left of summer vacation, so don't even mention that assignment!" Hayner said in an annoyed tone, bordering on a direct order.

"There's always tomorrow...or the day after that..." Pence piped in, equally hoping to put off homework until the latest possible time.

"But we agreed we'd get it finished today!" Olette huffed, her studious hard-working self that she had allowed to go on vacation once break had started two months ago was re-emerging now that school was just around the corner. "Hey, Roxas, what do you say?" Hoping for some back up, the brunette girl turned towards Roxas, but whatever she planned to say afterwards got stuck in her throat at the troubled sight of her friend slash secret crush.

Hayner, though, didn't see what she did from where he sat, and he took the chance to interrupt. "Roxas agrees with us, right? He went through so much to win the championship yesterday, so let him bask in the memory of it, along with all the rest of us!"

The mention of yesterday broke Roxas out of his reverie, and he looked up and locked gazes with Olette's troubled emeralds before glancing at his other two friends so that he could address them all at once. "Yesterday I fell off the station tower, didn't I?"

The two boys looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "You wouldn't _be_ here if you did!" the leader of their group answered in a manner-of-fact way.

"But man, that was a close one..." Pence added— the way he remembered it, they managed to grab a hold of Roxas and pull him back so he could regain his balance before he tipped over too far.

Olette wasn't sure how she remembered it, and her forehead creased slightly as she tried to think back to less than 24 hours ago. She knew she felt a deep intense fear, but the harder she tried recall it the more fuzzy it became and eventually she felt a headache coming on. She shook her head, lifting a hand to rub the side of her right temple, and noticed Roxas didn't look any better than she felt. This was a bad subject, and either way Roxas was alive and well.

Turning her head towards Hayner, she walked back to him and put her hands on her hips. "Stop changing the subject!" she chided harshly.

Hayner stared back into Olette's fierce, determined eyes and knew there was no way he was going to get out of doing it when the brunette girl became like that. "Okay already!" he said, sighing in defeat. "You win. We'll do the homework. Stupid research study," the leader added under his breath. "So, anybody got any bright ideas for a topic?" Hayner asked, looking pointedly at Olette in hopes that a lack of an idea would get them off the hook from the impending doom of studying.

While the question had indeed stumped the lone girl of the group, it had started to pull Roxas from his brooding into a more constructive thinking mode. "Maybe..." he started, getting to his feet and approaching his friends, " we could study the stuff that's been happening to me. You know, the dreams— and maybe the guys in white..." The Struggle champion was feeling more excited about doing homework than he would've thought. It was a perfect way to tell his friends the whole truth and get to the bottom of it all at once.

"Forget it," Hayner said, dismissing the idea quickly and with no explanation.

The response surprised Roxas so much that the pain from the rejection almost didn't register. "Why?" he countered, truly believing it was an awesome idea. He watched with confused curiosity as his friends all made eye contact with each other and made knowing smiles before focusing on him.

"You know how things have been weird with you and the town since the photos were stolen right?" Hayner started with the clarification of the seemingly harsh and unwarranted rejection.

_Even from before then,_ Olette added inwardly, worried but able to keep the smile on her face.

"Well, tomorrow we're all gonna search the town and find out what's been goin' on," Pence continued.

Feeling genuinely happier just thinking about the next day's event and getting to the bottom of what's been eating Roxas, the brunette girl added, "Lots of people are helping out." The smile that seemed forced just a second ago now was brighter just watching Roxas's demeanor lighten at the news.

"All that for me?" Roxas said, so touched by the surprise that he was speechless. He really couldn't have asked for better friends.

"Well now that that's settled, we still need a topic," Hayner brought up again, crossing his arms as he began to think.

"I'll go get some ice cream while we brainstorm!" the now high-spirited Roxas offered before sprinting out.

When Roxas came back and distributed the chilled treats, the four friends sat silently and ate while they thought hard for a topic for their homework.

Taking a pause from eating his salt sea ice cream, Pence wiped his mouth and looked at each of his friends. "You know, there's actually this strange rumor going around. Wanna hear it?" he asked them, continuing when they also paused what they were doing and nodded at him. "You know the stone steps at Sunset Station? We use 'em all the time, without even thinking about it. But— and this is the weird part— the steps count differently going up and down!"

Hayner almost choked on the piece of popsicle he bit off before coughing out a, "Seriously?!" Two weeks ago, he wouldn't have given it a second thought, but ever since the word 'photo' had seemingly been erased along with the missing pictures, along with other weird, unexplained happenings, he couldn't exactly sweep it under coincidences anymore.

"And there are six other weird stories like that. It's like...the seven wonders of Twilight Town," Pence added, getting excited about being able to become a super sleuth for the day.

"We should investigate those for our school project! Pence, you're a genius!" the leader said, jumping up and patting the headband-wearing boy on the shoulder.

Grinning widely, Pence finished his popsicle and got to his feet as well. "There might be other rumors going around, too. Let's split up! I'm gonna look for the seven wonders..."

"Olette and I will go find some new rumors!" Hayner said quickly before anyone else could speak up. "C'mon!" he motioned for the girl in question to follow him as he ran out of the Usual Place.

Emerald eyes widened and Olette took a few steps after him. "Hayner!" she called, though wasn't surprised when she didn't get a response nor saw him come running back. Sighing quietly, she turned back to give her two remaining friends an apologetic look before going after their self-deciding leader.

"Guess that leaves you and me, Roxas," Pence said, opening his mouth to continue but paused when Roxas's attention was still at the opening Olette had just left through. He looked between the exit and Roxas, recalling Olette's response just seconds before and Roxas's reaction now. _Just what is going on between those two,_ the headband-wearing boy mused before he patted the blonde on the shoulder. "Let's try the train station first."

Riku— that was all Roxas was able to think of whenever he saw Hayner running off with Olette. _What does it mean? Is it a warning? Does Hayner like.._. A pat on his back snapped Roxas out of his reverie, and sapphire eye blinked and focused on Pence as the boy pumped his fist in the air and said, 'To the station!' Smiling slightly, he nodded and followed after his partner.

He could talk to Hayner about Olette later.

xoxoxoxox

"Hayner, what was that back there?" Olette questioned when she finally caught up to him.

"What are you talking about?" the leader answered back with a question somewhat distractedly as they walked through Market Street.

The brunette girl wondered briefly if her friend was really working on finding more clues or was pretending to look busy to avoid her grilling, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Y'know, deciding I was your partner and running out before we could even discuss it."

Hayner was silent, looking around for anything suspicious, and locked gazes with her for a moment before moving forward again. "Well, you're the brains of the group..." he muttered, a bit mad at himself that that was all he could come up with.

Olette didn't seem too impressed, either. "That's it?" She wasn't sure what stung more— the fact that that was all he thought of her as, or that he was lying to her. Roxas had tried pulling that one last week, too. "This was all Pence's idea, so if you wanted 'brains' he—"

"Do you not want to work with me or something?" Hayner cut her off, annoyed and not particularly liking the possibility that Olette would rather be with the other blonde.

Olette stepped back in shock before she felt guilt wash over her. "Hayner, that's not..." she trailed off, shaking her head. She wasn't too sure what she thought Hayner was up to. _If he was even up to anything...Oh, what am I doing? I'm supposed to stop being so hung up on Roxas, remember?_ Sighing, brown locks fell over her shoulder as she began looking around as well, but after they had snooped around the entire two sections of Market Street, she knew they weren't getting anywhere.

"Maybe we should head over to the other part of town," Olette suggested when they stopped for a rest. "Less people hang out there, so maybe more strange occurrences are happening without anyone noticing."

Smiling, Hayner nodded and followed her to the train station, where they met up with Roxas and Pence.

"Whoa! Find new rumors already?" the ebony-haired boy asked when they were closer.

Olette smiled sadly and shook her head. "Nothing on Market Street," she replied.

Sniffing and running a finger under his nose, Hayner got into his 'not going to lose' pose. "You twerps aren't gonna scoop us. We're going to the terrace with you."

Rolling her emerald eyes and wondering if she approached Hayner with the wrong issue earlier (aka his attitude), Olette turned and looked at her partner. "Hayner, it's _not_ a race!" she chided, trying to ignore the fact that she really didn't want to fight Roxas.

"Well, it is now!" Hayner retorted, turning to face her, too. He couldn't explain his need to want to win against Roxas in front of Olette.

Roxas laughed, though it sounded a bit forced and nervous. He really didn't know what was up with Hayner, but he wasn't going to fight and compete with him. "C'mon, we can _all_ go," he offered as the train pulled up behind them.

Hayner ran ahead and took a seat, patting the space beside him when Olette entered in after Pence, who had sat across from him (he couldn't have his partner mingling with the enemies by sitting with them, after all). His happiness only lasted as long as it took Roxas to take the seat beside Pence, right in front of Olette.

Noticing the slight tension between them, Olette couldn't help but smile, though, at the fact that the four of them were together. Times like this were precious, and she was going to make sure they all remembered that. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the yellow crystal Roxas had given her yesterday, her eyes softening when they caught onto Roxas's own sapphire gaze.

The two of them watched the others pull out their crystals as well, and Roxas grinned and began searching his pockets for his own. When it didn't immediately connect with his fingers, a wave of panic washed over him and he stood up and patting his hands over his back pockets, feeling nothing. He slowly sat back down, feeling numb and dejected that he had lost the token of their friendship and was being left out of what was supposed to be a rejuvenating connection between the four of them.

Olette, who hadn't taken her eyes off her crush, slowly lowered the hand she was holding out when she realized the sadness that had taken over Roxas. Had it fallen out when they pulled him back from the ledge of the Clock Tower? _Oh Roxas,_ Olette thought, watching him as he bent his head down as the other two continued to catch the sun's rays in their crystals.

As the train came to a screeching halt at Sunset Station, Olette stood up and walked over to Roxas, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. He looked up and smiled softly in thanks, though part of him wanted to lift a hand to place on top of hers. The brunette girl opened her mouth to offer her crystal to him to replace the one Roxas seemed to have lost, since she wouldn't even have one if the other hadn't won the tournament, but before she could, Hayner, after catching the two of them from the corner of his eyes, yelled, "Olette! Hurry!" before running out of the train.

The two of them jumped, startled, and separated from each other. After waving to the both of them, she hurried off train to catch up to her partner as Pence and Roxas took their time disembarking the train.

Roxas stretched, slowing when they approached the stairs leading down to the terrace. "Huh...aren't these the steps you talked about? The ones that count different going up and down?"

"Umm..." Pence started, looking a bit embarrassed. "Actually, it's the stupidest thing ever, but..."

"What?"

"Rai's the one who counted. He's like, 'Every time I count, it's different, Y'KNOW?'" He imitated Rai's voice as they imagined the tallest of Seifer's group running up and down the steps counting with his fingers, and he laughed.

"So...he just counted wrong?" Roxas asked after the other managed to stop. Pence nodded, and he sighed at the bust of the first 'Seven Wonders'.

"Hey, no worries, we still got six more," Pence said, and they made their way downstairs.

As they passed a dead end, Roxas stopped for a moment as a strange ball flew out at him, followed by another. Dodging the balls that were somehow shooting out from the wall, Roxas grabbed the foam bat resting against the side at the opening and worked his way to the end of wall, hitting it with the bat.

One last ball shot out of the wall before he heard footsteps, and Pence appeared at the open end of the dead end street, looking slightly relieved when he saw Roxas. "Oh, it's just you, Roxas. Were you throwing a ball? That ball flew out of nowhere and totally startled me. Hey, I know! This explains one of those sever wonders!"

Roxas opened his mouth to explain that no, it wasn't him, but without evidence to show that the wall was just spitting balls out now that it had stopped, simply nodded and followed his friend out, clutching the bat that was the only real thing from that entire situation. They both missed a mysterious energy shuddering in front of the wall before it vanished.

After deciding to split up to cover more area, Roxas noticed a tunnel and walked over to investigate it. To his surprise, he noticed Vivi standing alone inside, and he stopped short, remembering the Vivi that wasn't quite Vivi yesterday. "Vivi...?" he said slowly, approaching the small child. When he got closer, though, the being split into several Vivis, who all began to surround him. Realizing he was still holding the bat from earlier, he swung at and defeated the Vivi clones, watching them disappear into data. He circled around, looking for more, and saw one approaching him from the entrance. Roxas readied himself into a defensive stance.

The Vivi tilted his head to the side in question as it came closer. "What is it, Roxas?" the witch hat-wearing child asked, holding a foam bat in his hand as well. "Oh, are you getting in some practice, too?"

Roxas stared at Vivi for a moment before relaxing out of his stance. "Er, no, it's just that...there were so many of you..."

"Huh? So...many of me? I don't get it. Anyway, if you're done, this is an awesome place to practice, if I may take over."

Nodding slowly, Roxas made his way out, turning around as Vivi made little battle noises as he swung around at the air. He almost bumped into Pence, who came running in at the noises, but after looking over Roxas's shoulder, just sighed.

"So the mystery voice was just Vivi practicing," he said before patting Roxas on the back and continued to search as Roxas looked back, confused, before walking to catch up to his partner.

"Listen, there were a whole bunch of Vivi clones here just a minute ago..." he started, missing the extra Vivi that exited the tunnel, which turned into a Dusk and floated away.

The Struggle champion followed after Pence, passing a small waterfall, but stopped when the reflection he saw of himself walked out from the liquid and went right through his body. After getting over his initial shock of having something akin to a ghost go through him, Roxas spun around and came face to face with a dark form of himself. The dark being shifted into an attack mode, and something deep within him pulsed.

_'Roxas, don't ever change.'_

Olette had told him that, up on the clock tower after she was released from the hospital. _Don't change into the creature in front of you, don't become one of them._ Gripping onto the foam bat he was glad he didn't discard yet, Roxas charged forward, meeting his other self head on. It was strange, fighting himself, and he was almost afraid to finish the fight, thinking he, too, would also disappear— _'A part of you rests in all of us, Roxas'_— but soon he was down on one knee, breathing heavily as he watched his shadow disappear into a burst of numbers, letters and lights.

_Isn't that...how that Axel guy disappeared...? Was that real?_

"Roxas!"

Said boy looked up, seeing a worried Pence running back towards him. With an internal groan, Roxas stood up and dusted himself off as his headband-wearing friend helped him clean himself off.

"You all right?" Pence asked, wondering what happened. _Did he have an episode like Letty was telling me happened last week at the Usual Spot?_ The running water from the waterfall near them caught his eye, and for a second his heart stopped, thinking he saw someone else where his and Roxas's reflections were. "Now that's spooky! I thought I saw someone, but it was just my reflection. I bet this is behind one of the seven wonders!" Laughing slightly to hide his original unease, Pence patted Roxas on the back and continued forward.

_You don't know how right you are, Pence,_ Roxas thought, staring at his reflection. "Another...me?" he whispered to himself.

_'Sora.'_

The thought came and left so swiftly that Roxas wasn't sure where it came from, or if he had even heard it inside of his head in the first place. Shaking his head, Roxas walked away towards Sunset Hill as his Shadow form appeared briefly in the waterfall before disappearing once more.

At the bottom of the Hill, the blonde boy noticed a strange bouncing bag running around, and after eyeing it wearily, Roxas deemed it the least dangerous of all the other strange things he had come across so far that afternoon. That and it was something physical he could actually catch and show to Pence. With that mindset, he leapt onto the bag to keep it from moving around. It seemed to work for a moment, before it hopped again.

"Yikes!" Roxas yelped, startled.

Hearing his friend's cry, Pence ran towards him from his place across the street just as a dog came out of the bag that Roxas was holding onto. "Oh, it was just a dog. Did you let it out of the sack, Roxas?"

Sitting up, Roxas rubbed the side of his head as they watched the dog run back to its owner at the bottom of the set of stairs.

"This explains one of those seven wonders," the black-haired boy sighed, turning to face Roxas at the other stood up onto his feet.

"You know...that last wonder wasn't exactly wonderful," Roxas pointed out, though he was glad it wasn't anything strange.

Pence held his hands up in defence. "I understand, say no more. But this next one's gonna be really great! Wonder number Six!" Before he could go on further, the two heard approaching footsteps running their way, and they turned to see Hayner and Olette coming towards them.

"We got another lead!" their group leader announced.

"'The Ghost Train Mystery'..." Olette revealed excitedly.

"Everybody knows about Wonder number Six!" Pence pointed out matter-of-factly, causing Hayner to glare at him and cross his arms.

"Yeah, well I didn't," Hayner muttered.

Choosing to intervene before his best friend blew his top, Roxas smiled, and found a positive outlook on the situation. "Did you find out where the train runs?" he asked.

Olette smiled back, understanding that Roxas wasn't letting their entire time searching for a new lead go to waste. "You can see it from Sunset Hill."

"All right, let's go!" Roxas exclaimed, and the four of them made their way up to the top of Sunset Hill, heading for the railing where the edge overlooked the train tunnel.

"If the rumours are true, it'll be here any minute..." Hayner said as he squinted, looking into the distance.

"For they say the train is empty," Pence started in a haunting voice from behind them. "No driver, no conductor, no passengers...NO RETURN."

"Pence!" Olette scolded him for giving her goosebumps, lightly slapping him on the arm as said boy laughed.

Hayner smirked and sat down, while the other three had remained standing— it wasn't supposed to take long, after all. However, after half an hour of nothing happening, soon all four of them were on the ground. Hayner and Pence sat up on either end, though Pence's posture was much straighter than Hayner's, who had put an arm out behind him to lean against. Roxas and Olette were in the middle, lying on their stomachs, with Roxas resting his chin on a mini tower of fists and Olette putting her chin on hands propped up by her elbows.

Swinging her legs back and forth in boredom, she sighed as she brought up an off-topic. "We've gotta make it to the beach next year," she mused in disappointment. Although she had opted to do homework, she still wanted to go to the beach, too.

"Yeah, we better get jobs the _second_ vacation starts," Hayner added, not wanting another last-minute rush to raise the funds to even get to the beach to happen again.

"Good afternoon, slackers," a familiar voice said from behind them, and the four twisted around to find Seifer standing there. "What are you doing out here?"

Hayner snorted, bending his right knee to wrap his arm around it. "What do you care?" he retorted, attitude clearly noticeable.

"I don't. Tell me anyway."

"We're waiting for the ghost train," Pence answered in a monotone voice; he didn't want to tell their long-time bully any of their plans, but he didn't want a fight to break out, either.

"Waiting for the ghost train," Seifer repeated mockingly before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

Annoyed, Roxas swiftly got up to his feet and got into a defensive position, glaring at the beanie-wearing male.

The leader of the disciplinary committee didn't break his gaze at the stare-off challenge. "Why does looking at you always tick me off?" he said through clenched teeth.

The other three got to their feet as well, ready to either hold Roxas back or back him up, depending on what transpired in the next few seconds.

"I dunno," Roxas replied. "Maybe it's destiny."

"Destiny..." Seifer repeated, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "In that case, let's be friends," he continued with a small laugh before turning to face the perpetual setting sun. "I don't feel like cooperating with destiny."

Hayner snorted, putting a hand on his side. "When have you ever _cooperated_ with anything?"

Seifer turned around and hit his chest with his fist, giving a lopsided smirk before leaving.

"Seifer!" Olette called after him, the first time she said anything the entire time. She had wanted to remind him about the search the next day.

Without stopping or turning around, said male said, "I know," in a gentler voice as he continued on his way. "Tomorrow."

Roxas stared between the two, curious, but before he had a chance to ask he heard the distant sound of a train approaching. "Look!" he shouted, excited as he ran back to the railing and leaned over it, watching as a mysterious blue and gold train decorated with stars and moons pulled up and went through the tunnel underneath them.

"It's really true...And there's really no one aboard!" Roxas pushed himself off the railing and turned back to face his friends. "What's the catch? There's gotta be a catch, right?"

Hayner, Olette and Pence looked at each other, unsure of what to tell Roxas—they had no answer for his question.

Taking their silence as confirmation that what he had just seen really happened, Roxas got a determined look on his face. "Then it's real? Let's go to the station!" With that, the four headed to catch the train, Roxas leading the way.

When they arrived, the mysterious train was already there at the tracks. Staring at it for a moment, Roxas faced his friends. "Let's go in!" Though he didn't hear any agreements, he turned and took a step towards the train before a hand reached out and stopped him.

"What?" Roxas said, impatient, and saw that it was Hayner who had stopped him.

"Um..." Hayner started, a little shocked at his friend's eagerness to die, and nodded his head in front of them. "You'll get hurt."

Confused, Roxas spun around and saw that the train had disappeared. "Huh?"

"The train will be arriving shortly," an announcement stated from the loudspeakers above them, and sure enough, the usual orange train pulled into the station seconds after. The four stared as a few passengers, including Rai and Fuu, walked out.

Roxas looked back at the train in utter incredulity. _But it...was right here..._

"C'mon," Hayner whispered, his unspoken suggestion that they get on the train and go home evident.

"A train came from the beach," Roxas started, ignoring his best friend. "There was no driver, right?" he continued desperately, looking back at his friends.

Pence looked uncomfortable as he shifted the weight from one foot to another. "Let's go..."

"Right?!" Roxas pleaded as he turned to Olette, holding out his hand towards her.

Sad, emerald eyes that very much wanted to take his hand and agree looked back at him, and she solemnly shook her head.

None of them had a clue what he was talking about.

Groaning at how unpleasant the atmosphere was getting, Hayner began pushing Roxas, who had resisted at first, onto the train. After arriving back at the train station, they walked toward Market Street.

"Let's go back to the Usual Spot and work on the paper," Hayner suggested.

"'The rumours were bogus. The end'," Pence stated the one-liner report it was going to be.

"We can still make it sound good if we write about all the work we did," Olette pointed out.

Roxas, who had been silently following behind them, stopped. "But what about the last one—the seventh wonder?"

Hayner stopped walking but didn't turn around. "Who cares!" he yelled out, exasperated. These weird occurrences were endangering Roxas's life, and his best friend didn't even care. Did the other blonde forget he almost walked right off the platform into an incoming train? _Does he not realize that there are people who will miss him if something happened__?_

"_I_ do," Roxas answered, his eyes steeling as he glared at the back of Hayner's head before moving his gaze to his headband-wearing friend. "C'mon, Pence."

Making a fist with his hand that shook with his contained anger, Hayner shook his head. "Whatever," he muttered before he walked away.

Olette stared between the two worriedly before glancing back at her crush. "Roxas..."

Sighing at Roxas's determination, Pence rubbed the back of his head. "It's at that haunted mansion," he replied, and after giving him a long, heavy gaze that said not do anything rash, Pence nodded to Olette and the two followed after Hayner.

Swallowing, Roxas watched his friends slowly retreating backs, and though he started walking after them, he made a different turn towards the Haunted Mansion.

Olette, who had turned back when she didn't hear Roxas's footsteps behind them, stopped and grabbed onto Pence's sleeve. "Pence..." she whispered, closing her eyes to hold back her frightened tears. The Woods, which one had to pass through to get to the Haunted Mansion, still gave her shivers when she thought back to the festival. To think Roxas was going alone...

"It's all right, I'll go after him. Just keep Hayner calm and write us an awesome report, 'kay?" he said, gently tilting Olette's chin up so that she would open her eyes and look at him.

She did so, and with shining eyes she nodded and laughed awkwardly as a few drops of tears fell from the action.

Smiling, Pence patted her on the shoulder and made his way to the Haunted Mansion. He had found Roxas staring up at the building, lost in thought, but otherwise looking unharmed. "You know something..." he started, and grinned slightly when Roxas had jumped, completely startled at his voice breaking the silence. _Even he's a little scared...why are you trying to carry the world on your shoulders, Roxas?_ "We were gonna check the mansion out tomorrow. It _is_ the most suspicious place."

"Right..." Roxas said, understanding somewhat why Hayner didn't want him coming here—at least not by himself.

"Even Seifer's gang was gonna help."

That, though, completely caught him off-guard. "Seifer?" Roxas exclaimed.

"Yeah, Hayner asked him to."

_Something must really be up with this place if Hayner asked _Seifer_ to help__._ Roxas stared up at the dusty window of the mansion. Unbeknownst to him, Naminé was standing by the window, looking down at them. "So, what're we lookin' for?"

"Well, they say there's a girl who appears at the second floor window, even though no one's lived here in _years_."

_"Come to the Haunted Mansion, and I'll tell you all the things you want to know."_

_A girl...is it Naminé?_ Blinking in thought, Roxas looked back up at the window, and suddenly felt himself transported into the room. It was painted white; the chairs, the flowers on the table, _everything_ was white. The only thing that brought colour to the room was the drawings that decorated the walls and random places on the floor.

_A drawing of Sora's island, Kairi and that star-shaped fruit—_

"Roxas..." a girl's voice called out.

"Naminé?" Roxas asked, sapphire eyes sweeping the room to find the body that went with the voice. When he found no one else in the room with him, the blonde male returned his attention to the drawings, focusing now on one with four people in signature black trench coats. _Two of them seem oddly familiar..._ "This is...me? ...And Axel's here, too."

"You _are_ best friends..." Naminé voice replied.

Humor was easily apparent in Roxas's voice as he said, "Very funny." How can he be best friends with someone he had just met a day ago?

"Don't you want to know the truth about who you really are?"

"No one knows me better than me."

Although he couldn't see it, Roxas was sure Naminé was smiling when she replied, "Of course..."

"But..." Roxas paused as he thought back to everything that had happened the past couple of weeks. "I don't get what's been happening lately." He walked across the room to look at the pictures there, and saw one with three people he came to know through his subconscious.

"You know these three, don't you?" Naminé asked as if she knew what it was he was looking at.

"Yeah. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They're from the dreams."

Roxas didn't elaborate about 'the dreams', but somehow he knew Naminé knew what he was talking about. She was the one who seemed to know more about what was happening to him than he did.

After a brief pause, Naminé began her explanation. "About a year ago, some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart. But now...I'm putting them all back exactly the way they were. It's taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again. The process has been affecting you, too, Roxas."

"You mean...the dreams?"

"Yes...you and Sora are connected. And...In order for Sora to become completely whole again...He needs you."

Roxas's eyes drifted to a drawing of him and Sora together. "Me? What for?"

"You hold half of what he is...He _needs_you, Roxas."

_What is she not telling me?__ "_Naminé?" A bright flash of light blinded him for a moment, and when it was safe to open his eyes again, Roxas found himself sitting on the opposite end of Naminé at a long white table. "Naminé...who _are_ you?"

"I'm a witch with power over Sora's memories and those around him," she replied from her end of the table, her hands clasped together on her lap.

"A witch?"

"That's what DiZ called me. But...I don't know why I have this power...I just do. I'm not even sure there's a right way for me to use it."

"Hmm...I can't help you there," Roxas said apologetically. Although a part of him wanted to ask who 'DiZ' was, his train of thought shifted as he eyed the drawing of him and Axel. "It's funny...Suddenly I...I feel like I don't know myself at all. I guess I would like to know. What do you know about me that I don't?"

"You..." Naminé's eyes became downcast. "You were never supposed to exist, Roxas."

The blonde male felt his heart stop for a second. "What...?" he breathed out. "How can you even say such a thing...even if it _were_ true?"

"I'm sorry..." Naminé whispered, closing her eyes. She so badly wanted to tell Roxas everything, but... _Maybe Riku was right._ "I guess...something things really _are_ better left unsaid."

Everything went white again, and the next thing Roxas felt was someone shaking him.

"Roxas! Roxas!"

Inhaling sharply, Roxas blinked and looked to his left, where Pence had a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with a mixture of worry and curiosity. "Huh?"

"Did you see her?"

_Naminé._ "Yeah. Watch the window—closely," Roxas instructed, pointing a finger towards the window he was looking into before.

When Pence turned to look, though, all he saw was the curtain moving slightly as if the wind had moved it. Naminé was nowhere in sight. "Oh, lame. That's just the curtains moving. There must be a draft somewhere. I'm surprised this old place even has curtains."

As Pence returned his gaze to Roxas, the blonde male noticed Naminé return to the window. Roxas opened his mouth to alert his friend, but then slowly closed it. It was no use—Naminé would just move away again. _Why does she not want to be found?_ "...Yeah," Roxas agreed with what Pence said, albeit late.

"Well, let's head to the Usual Spot. Hayner and Olette are waiting," Pence suggested, seeing as their work there was now done. With that, he led the way back to their hangout.

When they arrived, Olette was there alone, and she looked up as she quickly finished what she was writing. "Hey guys, how'd it go?"

"The girl in the window turned out to be a curtain flapping in the wind," Pence replied.

The brunette girl smiled knowingly. "I figured as much." She lifted the paper she was holding and waved it around slightly. "The report's already done."

"All right!" Pence exclaimed, and he turned to face a quiet Roxas, whose eyes were trained on the ground. He couldn't stop thinking about what Naminé had told him. How was he not supposed to exist?

Locking gazes with Pence, Olette's eyes silently asked, 'What happened over there?', but Pence shook his head—he didn't know what was up with their friend.

Letting out the breath she inhaled, Olette stood up and approached the two boys, bringing up something to do to get Roxas's mind off whatever was troubling him. "So, wanna go find Hayner? He's probably at the station." As planned, it did the trick, and Roxas looked up at Olette. "You know...we only have two more days together," she continued softly.

The comment made the blonde boy's heart race. "Huh?" _What did she mean by that?_

"Summer vacation, remember?" she clarified in a voice that was much stronger.

"Oh...right." Roxas said. Although the explanation made his heart slow down, it didn't shake the feeling that there was another meaning behind what she said. Why did it feel like his time really was running out?

"Well, c'mon, let's go!" Olette declared, ushering her friends out the door and back towards the train station, where their second hangout at the clock tower was located.

"Why is Hayner there and not helping you with the report?" Pence asked as they walked.

"Oh, he was still a little..." she trailed off as she casted a quick glance at a still preoccupied Roxas, "Antsy, so after a while I told him to go walk it off. He was no help in the condition he was."

Pence nodded in agreement, and sure enough, at the top of the tower, Hayner was sitting with his legs dangling off the ledge, a sea salt ice cream in his hand.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the group leader discretely glimpsed at his friends, and was inwardly relieved that Roxas was still among them. He returned his eyes to the scenery before him. "Tomorrow we search the town," he told them.

"Next day's the fair," Pence pointed out.

Olette clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head as she stared up at the warm-colored sky. "The last day of summer."

"Don't say that!" Hayner chided as he twisted around to look at their lone female friend. "You'll give me an ulcer!"

"Not if you explode from all that ice cream first!" Pence joked as he and Olette began to laugh.

Roxas, however, remained silent as the bells rang in the background.

The sound was almost ominous.

xoxoxoxox

The room was dimly lit. It was almost a complete contrast to Naminé's White Room, and was even darker than the computer room, which was lit solely by the glare of the computers. Despite having three long but narrow windows along the far side, the Dining Room was much like a bat cave.

It was here that DiZ sat alone, until the door opened and footsteps approached.

"Why did you show him the train?" Riku demanded.

"Because he missed the trip to the beach," the older male replied simply.

"Hmph...that's almost kind of you."

"Even I have my moments," DiZ said, and Riku could almost _feel_ the other man smirking in the dark.

Walking to the chair that was opposite of the one DiZ sat in, Riku took a seat and faced him head on. "I've waited, and now I want to know. What is it that you want?"

The smirk disappeared and hard, amber eyes stared back at him. "Revenge."

"Revenge..." Riku repeated, the hand that was resting on the armrest slowly curling into a fist. He figured that was what the older man was up too all along, but he had hoped that he was wrong. He knew all too well where that road would end—he found that out the hard way.

After the silence continued and DiZ gathered Riku no longer had anything more to say, the red-fashioned male decided to get down to business. "Now, for the finishing touches. First, we must dispose of Naminé. She did a splendid job with Sora, but it's high time she disappeared. Roxas isn't the only one who was never meant to exist."

Riku remained silent, and DiZ inclined his head towards the boy as he leaned back in his chair.

"Take care of it, Ansem."

_Restoration at 97%._

One more day until complete memory restoration.


	14. The End of the Beginning

** author' s notes:** I don't even want to think about how long it's been since my last update. I'm pretty sure it's over a year, sadly. But I'm back with a brand new and uber long chapter, reaching a whopping 11,320 words, not including these notes. I think that's even longer than the Festival chapter!

I just wanted to once again thank everyone who has been reviewing, favouriting and following my story. You guys have no idea how much it means to see people still clicking for alerts despite how terrible I am with updating. I've had to change my e-mail, so I can't personally thank any one person specifically, but I should have it all for the next one.

Before we got on with the chapter, I'd just like to point out that I just slightly changed the summary—I will now be having spoilers from the _entire_ Kingdom Hearts series, not just the first three games. 358/2 Days will be heavily referenced to from now on, and there are hints of it in this chapter. I am also planning on reading over my previous chapters again and fixing all my grammar mistakes, and maybe adding a little more detail in some places, just in case any of you want to re-read this story again while waiting for the next update.

I'm Canadian, but Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday to any Americans reading my story!

* * *

**Chapter XIV:** The End of the Beginning

What remained of the XIII Order gathered together for one of their rare meetings. Axel personally didn't like the room, the building, the _people_, at all. While some people dreamed of being someone else, someone powerful and different, being a part of something bigger than themselves, the redhead, having lived through that dream, found it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Dreams soon succumbed to reality, as his friendship with Saïx, too, crumbled, and nothing good ever came from being in that room. He presented Roxas to the organization here, which, while having met Roxas was probably the best thing that could have happened to him, eventually led to the blonde's deflection. And despite having learnt that the 13th member was still alive in this exact spot just a few days ago, here they all were again, awaiting news from the Superior. After Axel's failure to bring Roxas back, he had little hope what they were going to hear was good.

No, nothing good ever came from being in that room.

"Sora is coming back," Xaladin said once everybody was settled and quiet.

Axel, equally surprised by the news as much as he was that it wasn't the Superior who had said it, looked up. "Then..." He trailed off, his gaze moving from between the members in the room. _What about Roxas?_

"Then what's left is to eliminate Number 13?" Saïx continued Axel's unfinished sentence, though he knew it was something that the Flurry of Dancing Flames would never say aloud.

The Whirlwind Lancer shifted his position slightly as he moved to cross his legs. "If he has no intention to come back to us, then that's the only thing we can do."

The other members stayed silent until Demyx gingerly broke it. "So we're..._eliminating_ the traitor?"

Axel suddenly but subtlety raised his eyebrows. He hated the sound of that word. No, everything everyone was saying was no music to his ears. Just as delicately, he closed his hands into fists. "He's not...!" the redhead started more harshly than he intended before he bit down on his lip to calm himself down and continued as calmly as he could without raising any more suspicion than he already had. "He's forgotten everything. There's nothing we can do about that. Gimme a little more time—"

"There is no time," Xemnas interrupted, speaking for the first time since the meeting had started. Amber eyes watched unblinkingly as the redhead froze in his place. "...Axel." He had said it simply, but there was a silent command hidden in the way he had uttered the name.

Slowly, number seven stood up and faced the leader.

"Eliminate Roxas."

No one breathed as they watched Axel stare silently at the Superior, unmoving despite having been dealt an order. Xemnas tilted his head, an action that would have seemed comic had it been anyone else that had done it. Amber eyes narrowed slightly at the defiance he was being met with. "Did you not hear me, Axel?" the silver-haired male asked, though he knew quite well his words had reached the other.

"I heard you," Axel replied, before he raised one side of his mouth to grin and disappeared.

xoxoxoxox

Scribbling noises could be heard as pale fingers gripped the crayon that danced across the sketchbook paper in front of her. Sad cobalt eyes took in the image she was drawing of four best friends in Twilight Town as her mind replayed the meeting she had with one of the three boys she had drawn.

_Is it really better for him not to know anything...? I know I might have gone too far yesterday, but..._

Naminé looked up from her drawing as a portal of darkness began to form on one side of the room, watching as Riku appeared from it.

"Are the preparations for Sora completed?" he asked as he stepped forward, the dark remnants of the portal slowly dissipating from around his body.

The blonde girl smiled softly and she nodded. She knew this was the day Riku had been working and hoping for since Sora had fallen into his coma. Although it was a sad day for Roxas, at least some good would come out of it. "Yes, you'll be able to meet again soon."

Riku didn't reply, and instead turned his attention to the sketchbook Naminé had in front of her. He didn't think he'd find her drawing at a time like this, but the hobby always did cheer her up. "What's that picture?"

"It's Roxas and..." Naminé trailed off as she returned her gaze back down to the drawing she was just putting finishing touches on. "...His friends from that world." She moved her gaze towards the window and the Clock Tower that could be seen in the distance, towering high above the trees of the forest that surrounded the Old Mansion. "It'd be nice to live like this forever..."

When Riku remained silent, Naminé turned and began to put the crayons she had been using away. "I know. You came to erase me, right? DiZ told me that when my job is over, I am 'no longer necessary'."

This made Riku start, and he took a small step forward. "You know I wouldn't. I wasn't humoring your plans this entire time. But we must make our own preparations for leaving."

Naminé smiled and nodded before her grin slowly faded at a thought. "I do have a favor to ask, before we go. Let me see Roxas just once more. There's something I want to tell him, no matter what."

xoxoxoxox

It was a bleak, desolate place, the Gate to the Dark at the End of the World. He supposed it should be—it was the place that held all that was left of a world destroyed by Heartless, after all.

_"Gawrsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?"_ Goofy asked as the trio stood on the precipice overlooking the grand expanse.

_"Those worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?"_ It was phrased as a question, but Sora had meant it as a way to reconfirm what was supposed to happen after they defeat Ansem. _"But, if we do beat him, and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's gonna happen to this place? And to us?"_

**Crack, fizzle, static.**

Sora, Donald and Goofy reclaimed the power of flight as they defeated one of the guardians at the End of the World.

**Fizzle.**

_"All worlds begin in darkness,"_ Ansem's voice was heard as Sora watched his possessed friend Riku turn around and face him on the beach of Destiny Islands, transforming into the man that had started everything that had happened in the first place, _"and all so end. The heart is no different."_

Sora felt his heart constrict as the image of his friend disappeared and left Ansem in his place. He reached out desperately, wishing the action would give him his best friend back.

_"You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."_

**Crack.**

_"That's not true!"_ Sora implored, the images of his final battle with Ansem replaying before him. Ansem's different forms, having to face the monster alone when Donald and Goofy was swept away from him...

_"The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"_

...The final explosions as Ansem's final form was defeated.

**Static.**

In his original form once more, Ansem used the last of his strength to turn towards the Door of Darkness. _"Kingdom Hearts!"_ he bellowed, lifting a hand to reach out towards the grand white entrance. _"Fill me with the power of darkness!"_

_"You're wrong!"_ Sora repeated as he watched the doors slowly open. _"I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts is light!"_

As if to solidify the keyblader's words, a bright, blinding light shined through the crack as the Door of Darkness opened, engulfing and absorbing what was left of Ansem.

**Coding, static, fizzle.**

_"Now, Sora!"_ King Mickey yelled from his perch atop a crater on the other side of the opened door, lifting his keyblade high into the air. _"Let's close this door for good!"_

He did not mention the thousands upon thousands of Heartless that were clawing their way up the crater, desperate to enter the Realm of Light through the very doors they were trying to close.

He didn't have to.

Riku, who had been restored upon the defeat of Ansem on the inside of the door, helped to pull the door towards himself as the trio desperately pushed it from the outside. When one final push was all that was left, Riku glanced back at Mickey to signal the other before giving his best friend one last glance.

_"Take care of her."_

With that, the door closed with a resounding click. With King Mickey inside, and Sora outside, the two keyblades sealed the Door of Darkness once more, and Sora watched with a dull ache as it, along with his best friend inside, disappeared.

**Shift, coding, fizzle.**

_"Kairi!"_

Said redhead looked up from where her eyes were previously down watching the small patch of land she was standing on grow bigger.

_"Sora!"_ she called as the spiky brunette male ran to her. She stumbled as she took a step forward as the ground she was on broke away from the one Sora was standing on. The keyblader caught her hand and kept her steady, squeezing it to bring her attention back to him as he noticed her noticing that he wasn't going back home with her.

_"Kairi, remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"_

She felt tears began to form but she willed them away—she wasn't going to have her last glimpse of Sora distorted because she was crying. She nodded, smiling sadly; Riku wasn't with them, and he couldn't return without him. She wouldn't have wanted him to.

_"I know you will!"_ Kairi shouted before the distance between them was too much and it forced them to let go of each other's hands. They kept their hands out towards each other, watching as shimmering lights began restoring the worlds and repairing the invisible walls that separated the worlds, until they could no longer see the other.

**Fade to white.**

The scenery was green, with a bright, blue sky overhead, but despite the cheeriness, something felt sinister in the atmosphere. Sora, flanked by Donald and Goofy at both his sides, walked down a winding dirt path, not looking distressed in the slightest despite the new problem that faced them now.

**Static, fizzle.**

_"Well, now what do we do?"_ Donald asked, looking up at Sora.

Without moving from his relaxed stance of his interlocked hands behind his head, the brunette male answered, _"We've gotta find Riku and King Mickey."_ For him, it really was a no brainer what their next step was—it was probably why he wasn't visibly freaking out.

However, Goofy had no intention of being any less of a downer than Donald was. _"But, uh, where do we start lookin' for that there door to the light?"_

**Fizzle.**

Before Sora could answer, however, Pluto suddenly sauntered across the path in front of them, carrying something in his mouth.

_"Pluto?"_ Donald said a little disbelievingly. How did he get there?

Noticing the envelope held in the dog's mouth, Goofy exclaimed, _"Gawrsh, that's the king's seal!"_

_"Hey, have you seen King Mickey?"_ Sora implored to Pluto, squatting down slightly to get on the same eye level as the animal in front of them.

Instead of responding with a bark of some kind or another, Pluto took off on the path that lay before them. The group watched the dog for a little while before Sora turned to face his companions. _"Let's go!"_

**Coding, fizzle, static.**

It was nighttime now. Sora had gotten up during the middle of his slumber, walked around aimlessly until he felt something watching him from behind. Startled, he turned to catch the person only to see nothing there. Surprised, for he was certain something was there, the Keyblader looked around for a second before turning back around again.

There, slightly down the road in front of him, stood the figure he had sensed earlier, but when Sora ran towards it, the figure faded away.

**Static, coding, fizzle.**

When Sora followed the path in the direction the mysterious figure had disappeared towards, he came face to face with a building at the end of the road that would later be known as Castle Oblivion.

**Heavy static, coding, and then a complete shutdown.**

He had seen this place before in another memory...a dream... It was a dark beach, lit only by the light of a moon that looked like it was trapped in the middle of rising into the sky. On one side of the beach, a figure decked entirely in a hooded black trench coat leaned against a large boulder, where he was soon approached by another figure, dressed exactly the same.

_"I've been to see him,"_ the sitting man said when the other drew near, sparing the other one a glance before returning his gaze forward. _"He looks a lot like you."_

What came next was different from what he experienced in the similar dream almost an entire week prior. The newly arrived person had spoke, the exact same words as before, but where there was no voice previously was now replaced with a voice that sounded familiar.

A little too familiar.

A lot like his own.

_"Who are you?"_

The question echoed within the confines of his mind.

**Fade to white.**

The sound of rain hit him before any visuals. Creatures that looked like upgraded versions of Heartless, scientifically classified as Neoshadows, rose from the ground of the mysterious dark and dreary city. They surrounded a figure in the same signature black hooded coat, who soon revealed two Keyblades, the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion, and got into a fighting stance. It didn't take him long to destroy several of the creatures surrounding him, but there were still several more left to dispatch.

**A black heartbeat moment.**

Looking up to the top of the main skyscraper of the city, the figure glanced at the platinum haired male who was watching him for quite some time now, dressed in the same coat as he wore, only the hood wasn't up and he wore a blindfold over his eyes instead. Before one of the Neoshadows could strike him during his seemingly distracted state, the dual-wielder ran up the side of the building, tossing the Oblivion Keyblade to the man on the roof, who jumped off the edge to catch it. The two silently turn to look at each other as the pass, one falling down and the other running up.

**A black heartbeat moment.**

Together now at the bottom of the skyscraper, the two of them together dispatch the remaining Neoshadows, but not even a second after the last one disappeared the two turn on each other, the scraping of metal hitting each other resounding through the air as their Keyblades collide. The saying 'the enemy of the enemy is your friend' was only true until that enemy was gone, and then you were back to going at each other's throats. Eventually the hooded figure wielding the Oathkeeper knocked the other man to the ground.

That, however, was not the reason why the blindfolded male was so upset when he looked up at the person who defeated him. _"Why?! Why do you have the Keyblade?"_ he yelled at the male standing before him.

The hooded figure raised his keyblade up as if seriously considering the question before he childishly responds, _"Shut up!"_—though in hindsight, it was because he didn't know why, and thus didn't have an answer. With that, the boy brought down a final blow to the platinum-haired one.

xoxoxoxox

Slowly, as if coming out of some kind of drug-induced lethargic haze, Roxas blinked awake and slid off his bed, unknowingly shifting between the image of himself and Sora several times as he stood up. There was a feeling at the back of his mind that something was not right, and the blonde-haired male turned to look out his window—he wasn't sure if he was comforted by the same never-setting sunset that always met him when he stared through the glass. A flock of birds that suddenly flew past the window he was looking out of got Roxas out of his reverie, and after a quick look at the clock, went to get changed. Today was the day his friends were going to investigate the seventh wonder of Twilight Town in more detail—and with Seifer, no less. They were going to need all the pep they could get before having to deal with that twerp all day.

And he knew just what would hit the spot.

As soon as he left his house, Roxas made a bee-line for the candy shop, sliding open the freezer to pull out four sea salt ice cream popsicles. Pulling a small plastic bag from the nearby dispenser, he placed the cold treats inside and dug into his pocket for the munny. "Ma'am, I'd like four popsicles!" he said, holding up the bag in one hand and the munny in the other as he looked up.

Only he was met with an empty store.

"Huh, she's not here..." Roxas trailed off, looking around for the old lady that owned the place. He hadn't noticed the place being empty when he came in, too lost in his thoughts, but he knew he didn't have the time to wait for her to come back. "I'm leaving the munny!" he exclaimed in case anyone was in hearing distance, and promptly left after placing the coins on the counter.

Unsurprisingly, the blonde male's three best friends were already in the Usual Spot when he arrived. "G'morning!" he greeted them cheerfully, taking out one of the popsicles and thrusting it in the air. "I bought ice cream for us!" Silence followed his exclamation, and Roxas deflated slightly before smiling and walking closer. They probably just didn't hear him—there was no way that wouldn't have gotten a response from his friends that practically lived off the ice treat.

"Heeeey! Ice cream!" he tried again, moving to poke Hayner in the back with it, only to have it go straight through the fellow blonde male instead. Roxas froze, eyes wide. "What the—"

"Ahahaha, no way!" Hayner said, laughing as if he was tickled by the arm holding a popsicle right through his chest.

"Uh-uh, I don't believe it!" Olette agreed, before sticking her tongue out.

"No, no, that's what really happened!" Pence said, his face serious before the three of them burst out laughing.

"There's no way I'm gonna believe that. You better hurry up and show us," Hayner said, moving to leave.

_What's...going on..._ Roxas thought to himself as he watched his friends talk as if he wasn't there. He tensed as Hayner suddenly turned around, and he held out his arms as if to stop the other from crashing into him as he began walking forward, but he, along with Pence and Olette, just went right through him as they headed for the exit.

"It'll blow your mind," Pence insisted as they left.

"You're terrible," Olette scolded lightly, and her voice was the last he heard before Roxas could no longer hear their conversation.

Numbly, Roxas lowered his arms, and the popsicle he was holding in one hand and the bag of the rest of the ice cream he held in the other hand both fell to the ground. He didn't realize nor care that the treats had broken and begun to melt at his feet as he stared unseeingly at the empty space in front of him. He couldn't stop thinking about what Naminé had told him the day before. Was this what it felt like to not exist?

A flurry of coding and dark swirls appearing before him eventually caught his eye, and Roxas looked up tearfully as the redheaded figure in the signature black trench coat materialized in front of him.

"Yo," Axel greeted nonchalantly, as if it was normal for him to pop up out of nowhere and talk to him as if he didn't just accost him on the Struggle stage a couple days ago. The redhead paused as he took in the sorrowful expression on his friend's face, and he felt something twist inside of him as the blonde tried to hide his unshed tears from 'the enemy'. "What's with that face?" he continued when the shorter male unsurprisingly didn't greet him back. Silence was all that answered him again, and Axel closed his emerald eyes briefly before holding out a bag and shoving it towards Roxas.

"Here, brought this for you," the eighth member explained, inwardly happy that the thirteenth member even moved to grasp the bag in his hands. That was all the other male did, however, and Axel managed to keep himself from rolling his eyes when Roxas just looked down at the contents blankly. "Here, eat it." Axel reached over and pulled the box out of the bag, opening it to reveal six individually wrapped buns. Although the older man didn't say it, it was easily presumed that the word 'dummy' proceeded the sentence, though in a tone that one would usually use to tease a friend.

"I actually found this place right across that stand that sold that sea salt stuff you liked so much, on one of my off days when you were on assignment." Axel spoke in a far-off voice that was often attributed to those who were reminiscing about the past. "I meant to show you one day, but..." the redhead trailed off before sighing, and Axel placed the open box back in Roxas's hands, though not before grabbing one of the baked goods for himself.

"I've got such icky orders to follow. If you don't come back with me, they said to erase you." Well, it was half of the truth, anyway. Axel knew that if Roxas were to suddenly remember him and everything else about their past, he would somehow convince Xemnas and the others to overturn their decision to get rid of his partner.

Roxas felt the numbness that had taken a hold of him earlier begin to spread through the rest of his body at the redhead's words. The ripping that came from the wrapper as Axel tore at it to get to the bun inside only caused him to shudder and feel colder. "...Kill me...you mean?" the keyblade wielder eventually managed to choke out.

"Yeah," Axel replied in a tone that showed he wasn't enjoying what was going on any more than he did, "But I don't wanna."

Sapphire eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to latch onto something, _anything_, that would make him able to live to see the next second, and the one after that. "...We're...best friends...right?" Roxas asked slowly, trying to remember what else Naminé had told him in that dreadful white room.

There was a pause as Axel had taken a second to bite into his bun, having done so to distract and delay himself from having to carry out his orders. "Sure," he said after chewing and swallowing a bite, "But I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for..." The taller male nearly choked on the next bite he took as Roxas's words finally sunk in. "Wait a sec! You...you remembered?! Man, I didn't even need to get ahead of myself and assume I had to destroy you!"

Axel's excited and rushed words faded into the background as Roxas dropped his gaze to the melted and broken popsicles that he had dropped onto the floor, and his eyes seemed to dull as his mind continued to return to the one sentence Naminé said that he couldn't get out of his mind. "Am I...not allowed to exist?" he questioned aloud, not expecting a response from the redhead but more than willing to hear an answer if the other had one.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames stopped his winded babbling so abruptly that the fit of laughter that followed after the sharp silence caused the blonde boy to jump slightly. "After all this time apart, that's what you say?" Axel said when he calmed down, his somber gaze fixed on Roxas. "I guess that kills the illusion that you remembered, huh?" It was a rhetorical question, and the redhead was not surprised when silence followed it. Turning away, he stuffed what remained of his bun in his mouth before crushing the wrapper into a tight ball and throwing it over his shoulder carelessly. "...You really have completely forgotten." There was a pause before he added, "Actually, I'm kind of jealous." Truthfully, there were a lot of things Axel wished he could conveniently cease to remember.

Summoning his twin Chakrams, Axel twirled them in his hands. "I'll teach you something important, Roxas." He turned back to glance briefly at the boy in question before he began swinging his weapons around the room recklessly, tearing books apart, breaking crates in half, ripping the couch and papers into shreds.

"What are you _doing_!" Roxas screamed as one of the photo frames fell and the glass smashed into tiny pieces. "_Stop _it!" he yelled, running over to bend down and pick up the ruined picture—the picture that the group of them had taken during the festival in front of Old Mansion as proof of their courage.

The picture that no longer contained him in it.

As if the air that surrounded him was made of a thick substance that was hard to move in, Roxas painfully turned to look at what was left of the shredded photographs strewn all over the place. The one at the beach last year, another one from school a few months before that...there was only a blank space where he should've been.

"You know, this town...it's a _fake_ town that that guy made!" Axel yelled in fury as he continued to destroy the Usual Spot. "Everything in it is a fake!" When nothing was left whole inside the room, the redheaded male breathed deeply and turned to face Roxas, who was still bent down by the picture he had went to retrieve. "Hey, Roxas," he called to the other tiredly, though it was more out of emotional than physical weariness, as he took a small step towards him. "Remember. If you remember now, there's still time."

Clenching his fist before he stood, Roxas got to his feet, and Axel watched with an unwavering gaze as a flash of lights appeared around the blonde's hands and a Keyblade materialized in the other's grip.

"...You idiot," Axel murmured softly as he watched the keyblader get into a fighting stance, the look in the other's eyes hard and cold. "Don't you _dare_ regret this later!" With that, Axel rushed towards Roxas, one chakram raised to strike. Roxas took a step back, ready to counter, but the blow never came.

Reluctantly, as if it may have been some kind of trap, Roxas lowered the keyblade and took a step towards Axel. "He's frozen...?" he whispered unbelievingly as he took in the other's non-moving state. Even after everything he'd seen, heard and been through, the thought that someone could be literally frozen still stunned him.

"_Roxas_," a voice suddenly spoke, and Roxas winced and raised a hand to his head, where the voice seemed to be coming to him mentally. "_Come to the mansion_," the deep male voice ordered, and in the back of his mind the voice felt familiar, but not in a good sense. "_The time has come_."

When the voice receded, Roxas let out a shaky breath and dropped his gaze down to the ground where he had left the picture of his friends in front of the Old Mansion. "Hayner...Pence...Olette..." the blonde teen murmured gently, memories of happier times together coming to the forefront of his mind, and he wished for nothing more than to go back to those moments. The problem was he didn't know how to. There was only one thing he knew for certain—whatever was going on, his friends were dragged into the middle of it, and now, once and for all, he had to get to the bottom of it and bring it to a stop.

With that, Roxas turned and ran out of the Usual Spot for the last time, heading straight for the Old Mansion.

Several minutes later, Axel came out of his frozen state, but made no other movement other than lowering his weapon. If DiZ, who the redheaded male knew was behind his program malfunction, thought the time buffer was needed to deter him from chasing after Roxas was necessary, the tan-skinned male was sorely mistaken. Just like the Keyblade wielder, he had faced his own crushing reality that kept him rooted to his spot for several more minutes. "Yeah, I got it..." Axel said aloud to the universe, his voice bitter as if the words were like acid that was physically giving him pain.

"The Roxas I knew is long gone."

xoxoxoxox

"Outta the way!" Roxas yelled vehemently as he tried to shake away everyone's words that repeated themselves in his head, slashing at the Dusks that continuously popped up on his way to the mansion with the Keyblade he still gripped. He was panting slightly by the time he made it in the front of the property, and bit back a curse when he found that the gate was locked solid. "Don't call me and then lock me out..." he muttered before sparing a glance behind him and finding more of the white creatures blocking any plan of retreating.

Suddenly, a vision of Sora holding out the Keyblade out in front of him came to the blonde teenager's mind, and though the gesture looked like it locked things, Roxas had the feeling it had the power to unlock things as well. Taking a few steps back, he copied the movement he had just seen in his mind, and watched as light swirled around the tip of the weapon before condensing and hitting the center of the lock dead on. Said lock glowed for only a moment before disappearing and allowing the gates to open with a labored creak. Roxas ran through and into the mansion without looking back, not realizing that a mysterious hooded figure appeared from a dark portal behind him as the gate closed once more, fighting to keep back the Dusks that had lurched forward to follow the blonde male.

There was no one inside to greet him, and Roxas stood anxiously in the foyer, glancing around at what he could see of the dim, dusty house. He knew he was wasting time standing there when it didn't seem like the mysterious voice that called him there was going to make an appearance, and he had no desire to waste even more time searching every room for someone, anyone, else. Remembering the room that he had last seen Naminé in the day before, the blonde male cautiously made his way up the left of two grand staircases, and after pausing at the top of the landing, headed for the lone door at the end of the hallway.

A brightness that came solely from the pure white walls of the room greeted Roxas when he entered, and instead of cheering him up it only weighed heavily upon his shoulders—it wasn't too surprising, considering his life only went drastically downhill since the last time he was in there only a day before.

"...Naminé?" Roxas called out just in case, approaching the long table in the center of the room as he came across said girl's sketchbook open to a picture he didn't recall seeing earlier. Sapphire eyes had widened in curiosity before narrowing when he realized what it was. It was a drawing him Pence, Hayner, himself and Olette, holding hands and standing side by side on the ledge on top of the clocktower.

"Why is she drawing this?" he asked, hurt evident in his voice as he turned away from the picture and began moving around the room once more, scanning for more sketches he hadn't seen before. He stopped short at an image of him in a black trench coat with the dark rainy city that he had seen in his dreams that morning as a backdrop, and felt himself being pulled into a vision as a searing pain tore through his brain.

xoxoxoxox

Thunder rumbled in the dark sky above, the sound of rain falling a noise so constant it seemed like the world was perpetually crying. Either undisturbed or not caring for the water that fell upon his head, Roxas walked the streets lit up solely by electric signs with the hood of his black cloak down. He knowingly walked past the redheaded male that leaned against one of a nearby building's pillars, arms crossed, without giving the other man a glance.

_"Your mind's made up?"_ Axel asked the blonde as he stared at a random spot at the ground, trying to sound nonchalant but came off sounding solemn.

The Key of Destiny stopped at this, turning his head enough to look at his partner from the corner of his eyes. _"Why did the Keyblade choose me...? I have to know."_

Pushing off the wall in anger, the eighth member clenched a fist as he turned to face Roxas directly, sweeping an arm across himself as if throwing the other's idea aside. _"You'd defy the Organization?!"_

xoxoxoxox

Breathing heavily, Roxas stared at the picture wide-eyed, feeling sweat slide down the side of his face that he wasn't clutching a hand to hold his head with. "The Organization...the XIII Order..." _I was a part of that group?_

"Have you remembered something?"

Dropping his hand back down to his side, Roxas turned to where the voice had come behind him to find Naminé sitting at the long table. His sapphire eyes moved around uneasily as he considered her question before shaking his head. "...I don't really know. I..." he started before changing his mind and saying something else. "The XIII Order...they're a bad group?"

"Bad or good, I don't know," the witch replied. Sure, they might've forced her to do things she now regretted, but she understood why they did what they did—she was just like them, after all. "They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they're desperately searching for something."

"What?"

"Kingdom Hearts."

Chuckling filled the silence that followed, and Naminé looked up at Roxas questioningly. Of all the things she expected, humor was the last thing she thought the fellow Nobody would feel about the situation. "Funny?" she asked him, truly curious.

Roxas shook his head, knowing the other had misunderstood what he was laughing about. He had been fighting the reality of his situation for so long, even know, asking questions about things he didn't even truly remember. Heartless, Keyblades, Kingdom Hearts—after finding out that all those things and more were real, he found himself avoiding the one thing he should have been confronting because of fear. What was left for him if it was also true that he wasn't meant to exist?

"It's just..." Roxas started as he approached the other end of the table across from Naminé, "I think—I've been running away from the question I really wanna ask: what's gonna happen to me now? Just tell me that. Nothing else really matters anymore."

"You..." the bleach-blonde girl never got to finish her sentence as she began breaking into several pieces before disappearing.

"Naminé!" Roxas yelled, moving to take a step forward but stopping as another being appeared in a flash of data beside the chair Naminé had just been sitting in. He recognized him as the one who had come in between him and Axel during the Struggle tournament, and when the older man spoke, the keyblade wielder realized he was also the one who had summoned him to the Old Mansion.

"There's no knowledge that has the power to change your fate," DiZ stated to the shell-shocked Roxas.

xoxoxoxox

Riku liked to believe that he wasn't fighting off the endless amounts of Dusks for Roxas's sake, but for Sora's. He didn't think there would ever be a time where he would be able to admit to himself that the blonde Nobody had started to grow on him, no matter how little. Sensing the atmosphere behind him shift slightly, the Ansem look-a-like turned to find Naminé materializing a few feet in front of the gate he had been protecting. Going by the look of distress on her face, her talk with Roxas didn't go well, or DiZ had found her and interrupted.

All her attempts to try and return to the White Room were being blocked, and Naminé stumbled forward as if each attempt was like physically hitting a brick wall. When she reached Riku, she clung to his back and shivered—when DiZ had forcibly removed her from the room, she felt the older man's contempt towards Nobodies, and how he relished in tormenting Roxas, and it rocked her to her very core.

"Us Nobodies are beings that shouldn't exist. But...this is just too cruel. Don't hurt Roxas anymore than this! Please!" Naminé half begged, half sobbed.

Lowering down the Soul Eater he had been wielding, Riku hugged the pale-blonde girl silently, unsure of what to say to make the other feel better. The only thing he could think of was to bring Naminé back to the White Room to finish what she started and to keep DiZ in check, but before he could summon a portal a voice was heard amidst the Dusks.

"Is Roxas in that mansion?"

"...Axel..." Naminé whispered as she pulled away from Riku's embrace—she half expected that the redheaded male would make an appearance, but she was still startled by him.

Riku raised his head to the new voice, and at the end of his sight stood what looked like a XIII Order member, if the trademark black coat was anything to go by. Then again, he sported the same coat himself and was definitely not in league with the group of Nobodies. Not willing to take any chances so close to Sora's awakening, he silently raised his Soul Eater back up, pointing it at Axel. "Who are you?" Riku asked with his low voice, but the older male speechlessly prepared his chakrams.

Within the tensed atmosphere, Naminé answered Riku's question. "Axel...Roxas's best friend. A Nobody. A XIII Order member...But..."

Axel smirked, as if to interrupt Naminé from continuing, and said, "Naminé, we both have the same goal. Got it memorized?"

Remembering the conversation they shared on the roof of a building just a few days ago, though it felt like months now, the blonde girl shook her head. "Same...but not the same. I don't have the time to explain now." She could feel Riku shift slightly, and could tell the teen was getting ready to transport them back into the White Room. She could practically feel Riku's glare toward the redheaded male as he listening to their conversation. "I'm sorry, Axel." As Naminé said that, a black hole opened up behind her and Riku, and the two of them disappeared as if sucked in.

"Hey, wait!" Axel rushed forward but the closed gates prevented his hand from going any further. "Tch," the eighth Order member clicked his tongue as he looked up at the mansion.

xoxoxoxox

Shifting his gaze from the empty chair to the almost fully covered man, Roxas felt his shock from Naminé's sudden ejection turn to anger from the words the stranger directed towards him. His fate? What did that mean? What did he know? Was the man in on it? "Even if it doesn't," Roxas started, taking one step toward DiZ, "I wanna know. I have the _right_ to know!"

Although DiZ didn't want to give the blonde boy the satisfaction of riling him up, his annoyance was clearly evident in his voice when he responded. "A _Nobody_ doesn't have a _right_ to know. Nor does it even have the right to _be_."

"But what _is_ a Nobody?" Roxas pressed, his fingers curling into fists at his unanswered questions.

Before the tanned man could retort in something that would've been nasty, Riku appeared in a quick flash of black swirls a few feet beside him, looking directly at him despite the hood obscuring his face. "DiZ, we're out of time! Too many Nobodies!"

Not a second later, another portal opened up on DiZ's other side, this one staying open as Naminé stepped forward away from it. "Roxas... Nobodies like us are only half a person. But you won't disappear. _You'll be the way you were before_!"

"I'll..._disappear_...?" Roxas repeated in horrified disbelief. No one said anything about disappearing—why did Naminé mention it if he wasn't going to?

Seething, DiZ turned towards the witch and spat, "No further outbursts!" With that, he moved forward to grab the lone girl in the room and covered her mouth before anymore spilled out of her mouth like a faucet.

"Wait!" The keyblader ran forward, but was stopped from getting any closer by Riku, who sidestepped in front of him and held an arm out in protection of the two behind him.

Fighting the hands that held her, Naminé freed her mouth, which immediately opened to say one last thing before she could be detained again. "Roxas, don't forget what I said! We'll definitely meet again, and then we can talk about everything. I promise!"

As she and DiZ begin to fade away through the portal, Roxas rushed forward, holding a hand back behind him ready to call on the keyblade if the hooded male tried to stop him again. "Wait! Let her go! Na—"

But there was no reason for Riku to have to get physical with the blonde teen. The portal vanished along with him, and Roxas grasped at nothing but the leftover wisps of darkness where the trio had just stood.

xoxoxoxox

DiZ shook Naminé away as if touching her had contaminated him in some way, and watched as the girl fell to the floor. They were in the computer room. An image of Sora was projecting on the computer screen. "I will _not_ allow Nobodies like you taking things into their own hands!" Amber eyes narrowed as he watched Riku help Naminé up, and shifted his scorn towards the other male. "I thought I told you to take care of Naminé."

"I had no intention of going that far," Riku replied after making sure the blonde girl was unharmed, inwardly finding it funny that the older man had no idea what Naminé had planned—she had already taken things into her 'own hands'. "If you want to do it, do it yourself."

The bandaged man said nothing as he turned his back towards the two children, and Naminé took it upon herself to fill in the silence. "Why are Nobodies born? Why must we be born? You know the answer, don't you?"

DiZ bore holes into the wall in front of him. "I have no obligation to answer you."

"...You do remember that I'm a witch, right?"

"Ahahahaha!" DiZ laughed at Naminé's words and flapped his cloak harshly as he turned back to face her. "And what can you do? Didn't you make promises to Sora? Riku? _Roxas_?"

"I didn't promise _you_ anything," the witch declared.

"Then I'll tell you one thing," DiZ said as he advanced forward. "If you had minded your own business, Roxas wouldn't have to go through this pain. Am I wrong?"

"Instead of not knowing, it's better to know and be hurt. And when you're hurt, it's better if someone saves you by being there for you. I don't have memories of my own." Naminé paused, remembering the memories she was trying to make with Riku, like the time they had gone to the beach together. "Just like him, I don't know anything. That's why I want to know. Roxas would feel the same way I do."

"And what's the use of knowing?!" As DiZ rebutted, Riku noticed one of the computer screens behind him. Naminé had noticed it at the same time, too. There was an intruder in the mansion—probably Axel.

"...What do you know, DiZ?"

After noticing what Naminé was doing, Riku figured it was best that DiZ didn't know what was going on. That, and if it was Axel that was coming to intercept Roxas, the he figured the two could use some extra time—it was what he would've wanted if he were in their place.

"What are you trying to do?" Naminé questioned again, stalling the other man.

At this, Riku answered before DiZ could. "...Revenge." It was the one thing the platinum-haired teen knew for certain about the entire situation. He glanced quickly at one of the other monitors, and saw one informing them that Roxas was quickly approaching the computer room.

xoxoxoxox

After finding the hidden basement beneath the floor of the library, Roxas followed the path to the first room, finding a sense of familiarity hit him as sapphire eyes swept across an odd machine in one corner and a set of large monitors beside it. He paused to stare at the screens from far away before moving nearer, hoping the close proximity would help him decipher what was displayed.

_'...Why?'_ a voice spoke in Roxas's mind, and the same searing pain that he had felt in the White Room hit him once again. It was different this time, though—the blonde teen felt himself doubling over from the pain as images washed over him.

A symbol made with oddly purifying shades of white—it represented them as an Order, as Nobodies—

The room was as bright as the room that housed Naminé's drawings, and tall, too, if the chairs that soared high into the air were any indication. Thirteen people sat in them, all wearing the signature black trench coats, some with their hoods up, but he couldn't tell you the names most of the ones that had theirs down. There were only two he was certain of—the splash of red that was without a doubt Axel, and the mop of blonde hair that belonged solely to him—

It seemed impossible how beautifully the twilight rays hit the jade-green beaded bracelet just right as the piece of jewelry hung between the jagged teeth of the Dusk, and he could feel his hand tingle with the urge to call upon the very weapon he had tried to break away from—

_'Why me?'_

He wasn't looking at Axel's face, he couldn't bear to, not after what he had done, and his sapphire gaze was too busy staring at the brown hair that he could see fanning out from the figure lying on the floor behind the redheaded male. But what he could see of the other's expression from the corner of his eyes showed that his partner wasn't too pleased of what he had done, either, if the thin line of his mouth was anything to go by. But no amount of Axel's regret could appease the outrage that was building inside of him.

_"Come back, Roxas, and we'll set her free—"_

It was raining, as it always was in the dark metropolis city, but it wasn't the raindrops his ears were listening to. It was the clash of their keyblades as he barely kept at bay the blindfolded platinum-haired boy who had come to confront him yet again. He only came back to this world to do one thing, and this guy just had to stand in his way for a second time.

_"Why!? Why does the keyblade..."_

And he was spurting the same nonsense again! _"How should I know!"_ he retorted, feeling a sense of déjà vu, but before he knew what he him he hit the ground hard. Their roles were reversed this time, and before everything faded to black he watched as the other male stood from his crouch and approached, towering over him—

He was barely conscious, but he could hear voices coming from somewhere nearby. Where was he? What happened? He was so tired...

_"Will it work?"_ an oddly naive deep voice asked, sounding a lot like the hooded being that he had seen in the White Room earlier.

_"If we can maintain the simulated town until Naminé finishes chaining together Sora's memories," _replied a second voice, belonging to the one who he remembered the other referring to as DiZ.

_"What will happen to Roxas?"_

_"He holds half of Sora's power within him. In the end, he'll have to give it back."_ There was rustling as DiZ walked toward the set of monitors and computers at the side of the room. _"Until then, we'll plant another set of memories in his mind and make him live in the virtual town. That should deceive the eyes of the XIII Order. And when the time comes...we erase him."_

He could feel eyes on him, the gaze both intense yet gentle with empathy. _"Poor thing."_

From the sound of it, the bandaged man must've sat down, and then the rapid typing of keys filled the silence. _"It's the fate of a Nobody,"_ DiZ stated simply before hitting a final button, and he felt something wash over him before he knew no more...

_'Why did the keyblade...?'_

Roxas wasn't sure when he had fallen to the floor, but as his headache receded a calm fury took its place. Fluidly, he rose to his feet, the Kingdom Key nestled in his hands in a flash of lights, called to him in with an ease of a seasoned veteran. They used him...both of them—the XIII Order and DiZ. God, was Naminé in on it too? From the beginning, whatever he had, they took it all away from him—was it ever his to start with?

Nobodies. Born from the rift between light and dark, an existence not meant to exist. One day, he was born, _right here_, he remembered, in Twilight Town, in front of a decapitated mansion. _I didn't feel anything. I was a blank slate. Then _he_ appeared._

_"Do you want meaning?"_ he, the leader of the thirteen Nobodies, had asked him. _"This is the new you,"_ the man continued, and the current Struggle Champion recalled seeing the backward mirror image of the name he went by—Roxas.

_I was given...a name...and...a black coat._

_"Welcome to the XIII Order."_

He was invited to join the Order...though now that the blonde male thought back, it wasn't as if he had any other choice. Things happened without him knowing, or caring, what was going on. Roxas remembered fighting Heartless alongside Axel, of sitting upon the ledge of one of many highrises that towered the streets of the World that Never Was, wondering if their lives would be spent forever searching for a way to be whole.

_"It'll come to an end, someday..."_ Axel had replied.

He remembered returning to Twilight Town whenever he wasn't on assignment, remembered the first time he laid eyes on Seifer, the Disciplinary Committee, on Hayner, Pence, on _her._ He remembered the first time his new best friends had included him, an outsider, into their group, remembered the first time he felt _anything_, felt like he belonged somewhere, and found a new reason to continue coming back to that world, a reason to continue existing—

And these _people_ were making a mockery of _his_ precious memories!

With a deep cry of rage and hatred, Roxas took the weapon in his hands and smashed the machines in front of him with all his pent-in emotion until sparks of fried electricity danced through the air, smoke bellowing from between the cracks of the glass and plastic. Although he had felt liberated at the beginning of his attack, standing in the wake of his destruction unsurprisingly left Roxas feeling empty and defeated.

"Hey, hey, aren't _you_ making quite the scene."

Roxas turned his head at first, followed by the rest of his body, towards the owner of the voice he truly knew so well. "...Axel."

Bright green eyes, just as piercing as Olette's emerald ones, Roxas thought offhandedly, regarded him for a moment as if validating something in his tone. "So you really _do_ remember me this time, is that it? I'm _so flattered_!" Axel spat out, sarcasm practically dripping from the words he had put heavy emphasis on, and an explosion blew Roxas off his feet as if the redhead's words physically created a spark and produced the ring of fire that surrounded the duo. "But it's too late! Didn't I warn you back then?"

It was the same day he had been transported back to when he had glimpsed at Naminé's drawing in the White Room—that was what Axel was referring to, Roxas realized, as he froze in his sitting position.

xoxoxoxox

_"You know what'll happen if you make the Order your enemy, right?"_ Axel was standing a few feet behind Roxas now, approaching since the moment he had pushed off the wall he was previously leaning on. _"And you're still leaving?!"_

Despite the shortened distance, Roxas made no move to turn and have the conversation face to face with the redheaded male. _"...No one would be sad. Isn't _that_ right?"_ the blonde eventually replied with a bitter chuckle. _"We're Nobodies...We 'can't feel joy or sadness',"_ he stated robotically, as if reading from a textbook or reiterating a lecture he had heard countless times before. _"Even if we wanted to, we don't have hearts..."_

_"Hey..."_ the eighth member whispered, hating the dead tone Roxas was using—it was the same voice the younger male had used when he was first introduced to him, but changed to something more alive the more they hung out together, or during the other's excursions to Twilight Town. He failed to come up with anything to counter what his best friend had said, however, and the thirteenth member continued on his way as if nothing had stopped him, soon disappearing from his sight. The moment Roxas was gone, however, was when the words finally spilled from his lips.

_"That's not true..._I_ would...be sad..."_

xoxoxoxox

"If I go back now," the present Axel started as he conjured up his twin chakrams, "_I'll_ be killed. So you have to die here."

With a stagger, Roxas pulled himself up onto his feet, though the hand gripping the Kingdom Key was firm. "I'm not going to just quietly lie down and die," he stated with an equally steady voice, and Axel blinked in surprise when a shiny black Keyblade, Oblivion, was now held in place of the Kingdom Key.

"That Keyblade is—" the redheaded man started, only to cut himself off as he got glimpse of a silhouette of a _second_ keyblade within the cloud of smoke that billowed between them. When it cleared, his eyes fell upon the ivory Keyblade, Oathkeeper, in Roxas's other hand. Despite everything, Axel found himself sporting a ghost of a smile at the sight of his best friend dual-wielding, just like he used to back then, before everything became messed up. "C'mere," he said, jerking his head in a motion that the other male should come at him, "I'll make it all stop."

And with that, the battle had begun. The first clash of blades was bone shattering—almost literally; both of them could feel the tremor of impact right down to their bones. The exchange of blows following was a flurry of movement so fast that any bystander watching the fight from the sidelines would see nothing but a couple of blurs zigzagging across the room.

"Yeah, like that!" Axel yelled, exhilarated as Roxas parried his strike and countered, drawing blood—one of many cuts that the both of them had gotten since their fight began. "_Now_ you remember! Weren't those times _so_ much fun?" He rushed forward, quick on his feet, but as he drew his arm back, ready to lash out a hefty attack, his target was no longer in front of him. _Where...?_

"We can't go back anymore," a sullen voice said behind him, and the older man froze, just as time seemed to have done, before Roxas finished him off and the pain hit him like a train.

The blaze that had previously surrounded them, acting like a wall to prevent escape, dissipated with Axel's defeat, and the redheaded man's pants now filled the silence that the crackling of flames had covered earlier. Half-sitting, half-laying on the floor, the Flurry of Dancing Flames tried to hide the instinctual flinch that came over him as Roxas took a few steps towards him, but the younger male must've seen it as he made no other move to approach. He wasn't sure whether he was thankful or embarrassed by the action, or lack thereof, but knew for certain he no longer had the energy to lift his chakrams despite the fact that they were within arm's reach of him.

"Heh...you really gave it your all..." Axel groaned as he moved his head up to look at his partner, his gaze loosing focus for a moment as he glanced at the black wisps of smoke that began to engulf him, ready to remove him from the world once and for all. "Let's meet again in the next life," he finished, knowing that his time with his best friend was coming to a close.

Dismissing his two keyblades, Roxas bowed his head down slightly, allowing his unruly hair to come down and cover half of his face. The male before him might've done things that he was deeply against, and even resented him for, but he knew the other did those things because he cared about him, and that meant more than anything. "Yeah..." he agreed fondly, "I'll be waiting."

Axel managed a snort, wondering if either of them believed the words they were spewing now, before he closed his eyes and smiled resignedly. "...Right...I'll wait, too."

And then he was gone.

xoxoxoxox

"This old man is using us for his own personal revenge," Riku continued, his hooded head turned in said person's direction. "Aren't you?"

DiZ slowly moved his gaze from Naminé to Riku as the boy answered the girl's question in his steed. "...Are you betraying me, _Ansem_?" his voice shook with anger. To him, it would've been the second time someone going by the name of 'Ansem' betrayed him.

"No, I'm not. I told you our deal was only until Sora woke up, which he's doing soon. So I'm leaving the rest to you. After that, it's my...no, _our_ freedom," the teen in a man's body responded, moving his eyes to rest on Naminé. Riku never had any intention of helping anyone on their personal revenge—he would rather help Naminé and, begrudgingly, Roxas. Whether Nobodies deserved to exist or not, they resembled the connection between light and darkness. _Not everything in the world is light, and I've found the answer personally that darkness isn't all bad, either._ Even if Nobodies didn't deserve to exist, that didn't mean they deserved to be hurt.

Naminé looked up at him when she felt his eyes on her, her own cerulean ones shining with unshed tears. "...Riku," she whispered.

"I'm not Riku. It's Ansem," he said sternly, but not harshly. Although he let her get away with calling him his real name, once they left the safety of the digital Twilight Town she had to stick to the alias he was going with. "Let's go, Naminé."

"To where?" she asked, confused and curious at the same time. They both figured they had to lie low somewhere while waiting for her plan to play out, but they never really discussed the details, and the witch was now frantic about where they could go and what they would do to pass the time.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like Riku had thought that far ahead himself. "Who knows..." he trailed off before he subtly straightened his posture as if he sensed something."But it looks like someone who does just arrived."

"What?" Naminé tilted her head slightly at the smile that spread Riku's face, but just as quickly it had disappeared and the teen turned his attention back to DiZ.

"You make sure Sora wakes up," 'Ansem' said as if he was the adult amongst two children. "Look at the monitor—Roxas is on his way to Sora's place. Whatever happens after that...well, you're planning to leave it to Sora, aren't you?" While he didn't witness Roxas's encounter with Axel, it looked like he was right to have left them alone. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden laughter that emitted from DiZ, and he clenched and unclenched a fist. "What's so funny?"

DiZ simply shook his head as his laughter subsided. "Nothing. I'll go _greet_ Roxas." And with that, the man disappeared.

Riku could feel a knot begin to form in his stomach, and for a brief moment he feared what DiZ was going to do. DiZ might not have been able to harm the blonde boy because it would directly conflict with his plans, but Riku was sure that wouldn't stop him from finding some other way to inflict pain on the other. Hoping that there was light at the end of Naminé's little plan, and that that would somehow reimburse Roxas for everything he had to endure, Riku turned to Naminé and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Naminé."

Squeezing the gloved hand that held hers, the witch took one last glance at the monitor that showed Roxas and Sora before nodding. No matter how scary the unknown future was, she knew she could handle anything if Riku was by her side. "...Okay."

xoxoxoxox

Roxas wasn't sure how long he stood alone in the room, staring at the spot Axel had just been in, but eventually he moved forward—_he couldn't go back anymore_—along the basement corridor lined with capsules. Most of them were empty, but as the blonde teen neared the corner, he noticed two of them had something inside them.

Blinking curiously, Roxas approached the pods for a closer look, sapphire eyes widening at what he saw. "...Donald...Goofy?" It was one thing to have reoccurring dreams about the two seemingly sleeping figures before him, but to actually see them up close, to be able to reach out his hand and touch them...it was surreal. He could feel goose bumps rise up along both his arms, and Roxas slowly turned towards the last door behind him, at the end of the hall.

The room was large and bright when he entered, but it wasn't the blinding colour of white paint like it was in Naminé's room—Roxas wasn't quite sure where the light source was coming from. And in the middle of the room stood DiZ, in front of a single, large capsule.

"At least, the Keyblade's chosen one," DiZ addressed him, for the first time not sounding condescending.

The Key of Destiny stopped several feet in front of the heavily wrapped man, half out of caution and the other half simply because he didn't want to be any closer to him than he needed to. "Who are you talking to? Me? Or Sora?"

"Well, you _do_ hold half of Sora's 'power'," the older man answered, albeit ambiguously. "You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about the realm of Light and destroy the XIII Order. You must return to Sora what you've stolen, this 'existence'. And with his awakening, you will die."

Roxas could feel his left hand twitch, but he fought back the urge to call his weapon and tear the man in front of him into pieces until he got all the answers he wanted. "...Why? Who are you to demand this?"

"I am a servant of the world." DiZ suddenly laughed as if he had thought of something amusing. "And if _I'm_ a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best. And, well, you _are_ a Nobody, that's why," he added, as if in afterthought, though he did smile at the fact that the term 'Nobody' had two meanings in this case.

"..._That's_ why?" The blonde boy's voice shook, just as the fist his fingers that had curled into did. "Was that...Was that supposed to be a _joke_?" No longer fighting back the keyblade, the weapon appeared in his hand in a burst of light when he opened his fist. "'Cause I'm not laughing!"

With no other warning, Roxas rushed forward and slashed through DiZ, though the keyblade only created a wave of data as it sailed through the man. A flash of surprise dominated his features before a glare settled in, and he stood up straight and turned to face the back of the heavily covered man, who didn't even bother to turn around and face him.

"My apologizes," DiZ said without sounding apologetic at all, "This is only a data-based projection."

Data this...fake that...he was _so_ _sick_ of hearing those words _over and over_ again. Screaming in a rage that far surpassed that which he felt upon looking at the monitors earlier, Roxas repeatedly slashed at DiZ, striking harder when binary and not blood appeared. Despite the extra exertion, all his efforts were futile, and the blonde keyblader was left with the same empty feeling he had after destroying the electronics, only without a mass of damaged goods to show for it.

While Roxas stood catching his breath, DiZ vanished and reappeared behind him, closer to Sora's pod. When the younger male turned his head to look back at the tanned man, fresh tears could be seen trailing down his right eye—oddly enough, it made the fury in his sapphire eyes more pronounced instead of invoking the feeling of pity one usually got when seeing someone cry.

"I hate you so much I can't _stand it_," Roxas hissed through clenched teeth.

Amusement was heavily transparent in the smiling eyes of DiZ. "You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good."

"_No_! My heart is my own!" the former Order member screamed, and he felt the words, the same words Olette had told him almost a week ago, resound within him like they had a life of its own. He rushed forward once more, having a gut instinct that his blade would connect this time, but DiZ disappeared for good as soon as he was in striking distance.

Roxas stood glaring at the ground, for he had nothing else to direct his heated gaze too, his knuckles white from gripping the hilt of the keyblade too hard. He soon jerked back in surprise when the contraption in front of him began to glow and groan as the mechanical petals opened slowly as if his presence was the key to awakening it, revealing what they contained inside.

"Sora..." Roxas whispered, staring up at the slumbering teen floating inside the capsule. The object of the dreams that had haunted him for days was standing right in front of him. In the back of his head, the Nobody couldn't help but wonder if the boy was haunted by dreams about him at that very moment. "You're lucky," he spoke to the brunette male, hoping the other could still hear him—his last words.

"There's still one day left, but...it looks like my summer vacation is...over."

_Restoration complete._


	15. The Beginning of the End

** author' s notes:** Happy 2012, everybody! I meant to finish this chapter and post it yesterday, but I ran out of time and rushed to celebrate the new year, haha.

This chapter may have some mistakes in it—I haven't read through it yet, but wanted to post it before I had to leave. I'll be re-reading it later. Gosh, even when I finished reading back the previous chapters I was fixing errors on I still found some left when I was looking back recently for reference! It's crazy.

And has anyone seen the new Jump Festa 2012 video for Dream Drop Distance? God, it was great seeing some old faces again! It has got me all excited for the series again, and gave me some ideas for the my story!

Before we got on with this chapter, I'd just like to give out a special thanks to badkidoh and Warrior of Virtue for reviewing my last chapter, and alucard 24 for adding my story to their Favorite list!

* * *

**Chapter XV:** The Beginning of the End

It was almost exactly the same.

They had met, once again, in the Woods, though it wasn't out of coincidence as it was back then—he hadn't been able to get in contact with the other after they separated upon leaving Castle Oblivion, and only went out that day to check out the disturbance he felt, to which he was pleasantly surprised by who he found.

Now, he came because he knew it would've been the first place the shorter male would come looking for him upon his arrival in the Town, whom he had sensed in the Computer Room earlier.

And much like back then, when he pulled down his hood to reveal long white hair and yellow eyes, the older male had jumped back and summoned his Keyblade, though it was more out of reflex than anything else—it was bound to happen when faced with the very person that had threatened all worlds. Deep down, though, the Keyblade Master was confident that despite the adult appearance, the man that stood before him was the same misguided teen he had been trying to help for over a year now. Not only that, but the round-eared male was sure that the blonde-haired girl that stood off to the side, close enough to be watched over and protected but far enough to give the two men some privacy, wouldn't stick around with the likes of Ansem.

However, when the Ansem-look-alike didn't move to put a blindfold on and revert to his true form like he did on that day, the King began to second-guess himself. Right before he moved into an attack position, black eyes widened as they peeled away the layers of darkness, and instead of preparing to shout a warning, different words left his lips.

"Oh, no, Riku," King Mickey whispered before relaxing his stance, dismissing his weapon as he lowered the hood of his Order jacket, and walked closer to the trapped teen.

Bowing his head down in what the shorter male figured was shame, Riku found himself unable to call his dear friend by his real name, as the other had requested he should do. "Your Majesty...I'm sorry. I had to, for Sora."

A grim line set in Mickey's jaw as he recalled what the younger male had told him on their previous visit—that if he had survived his fight with the Order member he was to face, it would have been because he gave into the darkness. "Don't worry! We'll find a way to have you looking like your true self in no time!"

Riku smiled ruefully then, and it looked horribly out of place on Ansem's face. He supposed he was a bit of a masochist—while he longed to return to his original form, which at present could only be seen with one's heart and not one's eyes, a big part of him believed it was a well deserved punishment for everything he had done over the years. None of them would've been going through what they were going through if it wasn't for him and his bright idea to leave Destiny Islands. Naminé had told him on several occasions that he had trouble letting things go, but Riku believed that maybe it was just everyone else who was too forgiving.

"I'm not sure there _is_ a way, Your Majesty."

"Mickey," the King reminded him.

Pointedly ignoring the correction as politely as he could, the platinum-haired sixteen-year-old continued. "Do you remember what else I said that day? To be there for our friends..."

"But you survived!" King Mickey pointed out when Riku trailed off and didn't continue, unable to help himself—it was with a heavy heart that he had made that promise with Riku, and while he would've done anything for the younger boy, he waited for the day where he would be relieved of that binding vow.

"I might as well be dead," Riku whispered, curling his right hand into a fist that shook with his suppressed emotions. "And I will be, if Sora and the others lay their eyes on me."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it? What was the first thing you did when you saw me?" The teen paused as he watched a flicker of realization go through the King's eyes, and Riku held up his hand to stop the apology and explanation that he knew the other was about to make. "I don't blame you, Your Majesty. It's a natural reaction—the right one. And Sora's bound to do the same."

The frown that had settled in early on in their conversation hadn't left Mickey's face, and it was now accompanied with a hurt and guilty look in his eyes. "I know you have more faith in Sora's ability to see the real you than that, Riku."

And he did, though the blindfold-wearing male couldn't deny how much he almost wished for his demise at the hands of his best friend. Frankly, he was afraid of the brunet male seeing what he had become, how far he had fallen...despite everything he had gone through, Riku didn't believe he could handle that. "Please, Your Majesty...I'm begging you. Don't tell Sora where I am...or what I've become."

A long pause followed his plea, and had the teen not been looking at the shorter male in front of him, he would've thought the King had left him in the clearing.

"...What will you do? Where will you go?" King Mickey eventually asked.

Riku blinked at the questions, not expecting them, and wasn't sure if he should take them as a non-verbal acceptance of his request. "I'll do what I can to support our friends from the shadows. And there's a lot of worlds to keep track of the XIII Order in for you to cover on your own...I can help with that." Amber eyes watched as the smaller male mulled over his words before he added, "Does this mean you won't tell Sora...?"

"He won't stop searching for you, even if I don't say anything," the round-eared male pointed out.

"I know."

Mickey sighed resignedly then. "You have my word, Riku. I won't say a thing. But I have one condition."

The taller male froze at this, wanting nothing more than to say 'Anything,' but unsure if he could even promise that. "...What is it?"

"You_have_ to call me Mickey."

A small, but true, smile graced 'Ansem's' face, and Riku nodded. "Thank you, Mickey. I'm indebted to you for everything you've done for me."

The King returned the grin, and lifted his right index finger up as if he had an idea. "You can start by never giving up hope!"

"...I'll try," the teen promised, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pouch. "Here, take this. It'll be of more use to them than it will be to me...I hope it can bring some comfort to _him_."

Mickey looked down at the well-made pouch, opening it to find munny and a blue crystal inside. His brows furrowed in confusion—not out of where the other male had gotten it, but whom it was Riku was referring to when he said 'him'. He didn't seem like he was referring to Sora at all. "Him?" he questioned aloud, but when he looked up Riku was already walking away, towards the blonde-haired girl that had been waiting nearby. "Riku!"

"Sora will be awake soon," Riku answered, though what he left unsaid was blaringly obvious—_I don't want him to see me when he is_. "I'll make sure the outer Town is secure," he added, though he didn't mention that there was someone in that area that he wanted to meet up with. He figured he dumped enough of his problems on the King without the other having to worry about him possibly mixing up with the wrong crowd yet again. Pulling his hood up, the presently white-haired teen turned to look at Mickey one last time. "We'll meet again soon," he said, not as a promise but as a stated fact.

As Riku approached her, Naminé took a few steps forward to close the distance faster as she clutched her sketchbook to her chest, watching as the taller person opened up a portal of darkness. "You know I don't care what you look like, right, Ri—Ansem?"

The hooded figure said nothing, but the bow of his head was answer enough—she could read the gratitude and care that the motion held. "Let's go." Placing a hand at the small of her back to guide her forward, they walked into the swirling vortex and disappeared.

The King watched with sad eyes as the two of them disappeared before pocketing the pouch and looking up through the foliage of the surrounding trees—it was the closest thing the world had to darkness, since the world's sun never actually rose or set, forever locked in twilight. He should make sure the mainland of Twilight Town was safe before Sora came wandering about.

Pulling up his own hood, the mouse soon disappeared as well.

xoxoxoxox

Axel stared dazedly at the sun that looked to be setting into the sea. He was sure it was supposed to be comforting, hearing the waves crash upon the shore, but he was starting to feel annoyed at the seemingly never-ending sound of it—perhaps he had been there for far too long.

'There' was a place somewhere on the outskirts of Twilight Town. At the end of a long track that snaked out of the world lied a beach—the very beach Roxas and his friends could not visit—both in the digital and real sense. As luck would have it, neither set of them were able to make it there over the course of summer vacation.

As the redheaded eighth member of the Order tried to get off the driftwood he had been sitting on, he grimaced when a rush of pain came from his ribs. The injuries Roxas had given him from their fight in the basement of the Old Mansion had yet to heal, which the flame-user found odd, since nothing in _that_ world was supposed to be real. He vaguely wondered if something had happened to cause such a paradox, but he was in no mindset to mull it over any deeper.

"Ow ow ow ow ow...Seesh, he could have pulled back a bit, you know..." Axel mumbled to himself as he sat back down on the piece of wood, setting his elbows on his lap as he stared at the ocean waves once again. Although he complained, he felt an odd sort of pride in his partner's ability to inflict the kind of damage he had on him.

However, as that feeling slowly gave way to the present, Axel wasn't sure what he was to do from then on. From the moment he had left the simulated Twilight Town with nothing to show for it, he was already branded a traitor—not because he went against orders, but because he couldn't accomplish them. He was already suspected for being the only survivor from Castle Oblivion. The green-eyed man definitely did not expect to be able to return to the Order and still stay in one piece.

"Now what to do...?"

Just as he was about to attempt to stand up again to make a stretch, Axel's eyes flinched at the glaring sunset, and how it made the sea look red, bleeding across the sky—

_" Hey, Roxas. Bet you don't know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."_

_"Like I asked! Know-it-all."_

The ocean waves that continuously washed ashore drowned out the laughter from his memory—it was also beginning to soak his shoes. He should really move—

"Axel."

Suddenly called out, said male turned around in surprise to look behind him, where the voice had come from. And there stood...

"Naminé..." Axel whispered before his body stiffened up in vigilance.

The light-haired girl made a worried smile and ceased movement to show she meant him no harm. "Everyone has someone who is dear to them...even Nobodies like us. Especially Nobodies like us, because we know what it's like to lose something precious, be it past lives or memories, and so we hold onto anything and anyone who makes us feel like we're whole again. It's that way for you, isn't it, Axel?"

The redheaded male turned his eyes away from her, but the brilliant twilight sun did nothing to help the sting in his eyes at Naminé's speech. They said that Nobodies didn't have 'hearts', but that didn't mean that they didn't feel anything—it was easier to deflect the pain if they weren't supposed to feel it in the first place. In reality, they all knew that they were incomplete beings missing _something_, and it just made logical sense to refer to that 'something' as the 'heart'. Nobodies _did_ feel something, and it was that nagging feeling in the back of their heads that something was missing that drove them to want to be complete.

Honestly, Axel didn't buy into the whole Kingdom Hearts deal—not towards the end, anyway. After meeting Roxas, he was reminded of what it was like when he was whole, back before he was Axel, before Saïx was Saïx, and he figured if he ever did end up blossoming that friendship with the kid with the Wooden Keyblade, that _this_ was how it would feel like.

Therefore, what Naminé had said to him was indeed true—he already did, and would continue doing, anything he could to hold onto what, or rather _who_, it was that made him feel complete.

Taking Axel's silence as the affirmative answer she knew it to be, Naminé continued. "It's the same for him, too. And for me as well..."

There was something that she wasn't telling him, Axel could sense it—_"Same, but not the same."_ He had assumed that they both had the same goal where Roxas was concerned, but it seemed she already had something up her sleeve. She had to, since it obviously didn't involve stopping the merge with Sora. The blonde female didn't have the time to explain it then, but maybe now...

As he turned to face Naminé once more, he noticed something that he hadn't noticed before, and probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for the girl's earlier admission. Behind the blonde girl stood a man, standing there as if protecting her, suddenly appearing as if Naminé's confession of his importance to her gave him life. _This is who makes her feel whole._ He wore clothes like that of the Order members, but he was not one of them. Axel knew that much, at least—it was probably the same man he had met in front of the mansion. The redheaded male forced his aching body to move, willing the pain away as he summoned his chakrams.

"That's not what I'm here for, Axel." To show that he did not mean any harm, the male languidly left his hands at his sides.

Naminé turned to the man behind her as he spoke, smiling inwardly at the other's ability to remember that she had given him the Flurry's name despite the chaos that was happening at the time.

The redheaded male stared at hooded male for a long moment before he took a deep breath and dismissed his weapons, sitting back on the driftwood. "You," Axel said, nodding a head towards the other man. "Your name?"

There was a pause before the other answered. "...Ansem," he answered with a deep voice.

"Ansem?" the Flurry repeated, sitting straighter as his eyes narrowed. He had heard of that name before—it was hard not to when he was the Superior's Heartless. But the keyblade hero had defeated that man months ago... "No way in hell."

Ansem, or rather Riku, just shrugged. It figured that someone from the Order would've heard of that name, though he was slightly curious as to how. "What's there in a name? I want to make a trade with you."

Axel showed no reaction to Riku's words, flickering his gaze to Naminé before returning them to 'Ansem'.

Maybe there was hope for Nobodies yet.

xoxoxoxox

It was still summer vacation—the last day to be exact—but that didn't stop the brunette girl from waking up far earlier than a kid should be waking on a holiday. She had turned off her alarm for the month, of course, but her internal clock seemed unable to make such a swift change as easily as that. The female teenager was able to find some advantages to it, though—besides the fact that she should be getting back into her school routine, the phrase that 'the early bird gets the worm' was often what she brought up when forced to defend her actions to her two rather 'snooze friendly' best friends. She, in the spirit of being fair, decided not to point out that them being boys probably didn't help their sleeping in issues, if such stereotypes were true.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Olette pulled the light covers down to her lap as she slowly sat up. She raised her arms high above her head before lowering them slightly down to shoulder length in a stretch before dropping a hand behind her back while she brought the other hand to the side of her head. It was odd, but she felt like she had had the best sleep than she had in weeks, where she had spent the last several nights tossing and turning restlessly—and it was saying something when _that_feeling was strange and foreign. However, replacing that now was the feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was missing something very important, and Olette wasn't sure which was worse—the pain or the void.

Emerald eyes moved to the window, and though the sun was in the same exact position it had been when she had gone to bed all those hours ago, the brunette girl could tell that she had woken up at least a couple of hours earlier than she had to. She knew that if she made her way to the Usual Spot now that she'd be the only one there, and she had no desire to spend her time waiting there alone.

After deciding where she _did_ want to go, Olette got up and made her bed, but as she passed by her desk on her way out of her room to the bathroom, she stopped short and backtracked to the designated place of study to find the surface devoid of completed summer homework. "No, that's impossible! I could've sworn we did it already..." Olette said frantically to herself as she practically turned her entire desk over searching for it, though it was a vain attempt from the get-go—the brunette girl always kept her desk clean, and if it wasn't where it should've been, it was never there to begin with.

It was something that still boggled her mind even as she made her way to the top of the Clock Tower, but Olette eventually had to succumb to the fact that they would have to spend their last day of freedom tied down to doing independent study. _Which is a shame_, the brunette girl thought as she swung her dangled feet back and forth, staring longingly at the sandy shoreline in the distance, _because we didn't make it to the beach at _all_ this summer. Even the fair's today,_ Olette added, moving her gaze to the mainland and the streets below, where she could make out people finishing setting up for the end-of-summer celebrations.

"Feeling on top of the world there, Letty?"

Said girl jumped at the sudden sound of a voice behind her, and Olette brought a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart as she turned to find her best friends Hayner, who was the owner of the voice, and Pence standing there, smiling down at her.

"God, Hayner, you almost scared me right off the ledge!" Olette reprimanded, and though the shock that fueled that emotion slowly dissipated as her heartbeat slowed down to its regular pace, something in the back of the brunette's mind couldn't fully let go of the fear of someone falling from the very place she sat upon.

The leader of the trio smiled sheepishly in apology, feeling truly sorry (for no one wanted to be the cause of their friend's death) but too scared, embarrassed, or both to be gravely serious about it. "Sorry," Hayner said in a verbal apology before placing a bag full of sea salt ice cream in her lap—though not before taking his own popsicle first.

Smiling up at the blonde boy to show that all was well, Olette passed Pence a popsicle before taking one herself, but was soon frowning slightly at the bag on her lap. "Huh, there's one left over," she whispered as emerald eyes stared down at the extra ice cream.

"Hn?" Hayner replied offhandedly as he peered in her direction, his mouth busy with the treat in it to say anything more constructive.

"The ice cream," Olette said more specifically.

That caught the blonde male's attention enough for him to bother to pull his popsicle out of his mouth. "What?" Hayner leaned closer to peer into the bag, which indeed had a lone popsicle left inside. "That's weird...I could've sworn I got one for each of us..."

"Can I have it?" Pence asked, and the two of them looked in his direction to find his stick clean.

"What did you do, Pence, swallow it whole?" Olette joked, though she was half-afraid the boy wasn't chewing his food and would choke.

Hayner laughed and shook his head at the same time—Pence would never let him down in an eating contest, that was for certain. "Yeah, sure," he answered before attending to his own chilled treat. "I can't believe summer vacation's already over."

Rubbing his hand together comically as Olette handed him the extra sea salt ice cream, Pence made a point to chew and swallow when the brunette girl was watching him closely, her worry evident. "Speaking of which, you guys are up pretty early," Olette started after she was satisfied with the speed in which Pence was eating the ice cream. "Did you realize we forgot to do the summer homework, too?"

"_Homework_?" Hayner squeaked out, nearly choking on his own popsicle. "I woke up for the fair! The _fair_!" He made a point of stressing it, even going as far as gesturing dramatically with his arms to the decorated streets several hundred feet below them. It didn't seem to matter that there was an event of some kind every week for the duration of summer vacation—they had just attended a festival last week.

"I thought we finished that yesterday," Pence pondered, far calmer than their leader.

"Me too! I practically turned my whole room upside down looking for it. It must've been a dream," Olette said.

The camouflage-wearing teen simmered down as he gave his two best friends a watchful and suspicious look. "Okay, Olette dreaming about homework is one thing, but Pence—what the hell? You've been dragged to one too many shopping trips with this girl; you're starting to share the same wavelength!"

Pence chuckled, but Olette gave them a withering glance before crossing her arms, mindful of the unfinished ice cream in her hand. "Either way, we have to do it today. We can't start the new school year tomorrow without our homework done!"

Hayner looked longingly over the edge of the ledge. "But the fair...! Can't we just spend a couple hours roaming around? _Pleeeease_?" he dragged the word out, clasping his hands together as he pleaded with the brunette girl as if he was begging for something with his mother.

Olette turned away, well aware of the puppy dog look the blonde male was about to use, only to be met with Pence's equally hopeful expression. Sighing in resignation, though a hint of a smile was evident on her lips, she rolled her eyes to the sky. "All right, all right! Just a _couple_ hours, you hear?"

It was enough for Hayner, who had gotten up and raced for the stairs before the lone girl of the trio even finished her sentence. Laughing at the other's antics, Pence and Olette soon followed their leader's footsteps down the stairs.

Before long, the group had made their way to the base of tower, and there was barely any distance between them and the small set of stairs they had just descended on their way towards Station Heights when Olette felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Slowing down her pace, the brunette girl eventually came to a complete stop and cautiously turned to see if there was anything behind her. At first, she was met with nothing but empty space, but the odd remnants of billowing lights floating in the air caught her eye, and she followed them down to a small figure dressed entirely in black—even the hood of the person's coat was up, shadowing its face. The only distinguishing feature was the large round ears the being had.

Sensing the girl peering down at him, King Mickey looked up from the hand in which he had just dismissed his Keyblade. He was just as intrigued in her as she seemed to be with him. He had nearly finished scouring the entire mainland of the world, the Station Plaza being the final area left, and hadn't come across anything suspicious—that is, until the girl and her friends had appeared. The Keyblade Master wasn't sure if the white creatures that sprung from the ground were Heartless, but he couldn't find any other reason why they would attack the kids in front of him. _The whole town is full of people, though, so what is it that makes these kids' hearts so special..__.?_

Pulled out of his thoughts as the girl's two friends noticed her missing and were coming back to see what the holdup was, Mickey realized he would have to say—and do—something. He had to find Sora and the others, but he couldn't leave the town unmonitored while doing so, especially since it seemed like the creatures had awakened now. "I'm sorry," he started when the trio had completely assembled around him, "But you haven't seen someone by the name of Sora, Donald, or Goofy around, have you?"

The three friends looked at each other, sharing the same lost looks and unspoken thought before returning their attention back to the mysterious figure. "Sorry, we haven't, but we if do, we'll tell them you're looking for them, okay?"" Olette said, bending down slightly and placing her hands on top of her knees to be more level with the shorter man.

"Thank you," Mickey replied earnestly before rushing into the station, feeling a little more steady now that he was able to kill two birds with one stone. The building had the highest elevation in the entire Town, and not only would he be able to keep an eye on everything from up there, but now he didn't have to worry about unknowingly passing Sora as he searched for him.

"Ah, wait!" Olette called as she straightened, but the hooded person was already long gone. "We didn't catch his name," she said, turning to face Hayner and Pence.

Their leader frowned, crossing his arms while he bent his head in thought. "Can't be helped. C'mon, the fair's the best chance of coming across these people he's looking for—the whole town's gonna be there."

Pence smiled lopsidedly, wondering if Hayner would be too busy having fun to be searching, but agreed that it was their best and only bet. With that, the trio continued on their way to Station Heights and the road that would lead them to the Tram Common, where the bulk of the fair would be happening.

xoxoxoxox

_"Sora."_

The sound of a drop of water hitting the ground echoed around him. Was someone...crying? He didn't know that voice...who _was_ that...?

"Sora!" a quack-like voice said.

"Sora, wake up!" another voice, slightly slurred, quipped.

_Those_ voices he was familiar with, though. Slowly, almost lethargically, sapphire eyes blinked open, but were soon sliding close again as if they were too heavy for him to keep open.

"Don't tell me you're going back to sleep!"

The voice was right in his ear now, and Sora fell forward, wide awake, though he wasn't sure if it was due to the yelling or the pain he felt from his landing. Sitting up and stretching his oddly sore muscles, the brunet male took in the sight of Donald, who was right next to him and the probable culprit of the yelling in his ear, and Goofy, who stood in front of him, and was soon wrapping his arms around them in a hug. "Donald! Goofy!" the keyblader said cheerfully.

As he felt them return the gesture, Sora opened his eyes again, and only then did he take in their surroundings...and found he didn't recognize a thing in the bright room...and just _what_ were they standing in?

"Where...are we?" Sora asked his friends as they made their way out of the contraption and onto the floor, gaze sweeping through the room as they made their way towards the only door.

"No idea," Donald said as they reached the hallway, and gestured to the other standing pods they were approaching. "We were in those capsules, too."

Feeling something begin to stir in his hood, Sora stopped walking as Jiminy crawled onto his shoulder and yawned, raising his arms up in a stretch. "That was some nap!" the cricket said as he finished.

_Nap?_ Sora thought, turning the idea over in his head as he resumed walking. "You mean...we were asleep?"

"I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy..." the top-hat wearing creature replied, though he was obviously not very sure of his own answer.

The path eventually lead the group to what looked like a computer room, and the brunet male found himself staring at the multitude of black screens before them. Why did he have the impression the computers should've been wrecked beyond repair? "Well, I definitely get the feeling I've been having a really long dream..." Sora trailed off as he moved his gaze downwards to his clothing. _But how long were we sleeping for me to outgrow my clothes?_

"When do ya think we went to sleep?" Goofy asked as the group eventually came across a flight of stairs that led them out of the basement and into what looked like a library—it was here they took a short break to sort out just what had happened to them.

As if planned beforehand, both Sora and Donald crossed their arms together at the same time as they began to think back. "Let's see...we defeated Ansem..." Sora started, to which Goofy promptly agreed with him, "...restored peace to the world...found Kairi...Oh yeah! Then we went to look for Riku. I think that's right so far."

"Then what?" Donald pressed when Sora didn't continue, but no one seemed to know the answer.

"What does your journal say, Jiminy?" the dog-like creature posed to the smallest of the bunch. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before—Jiminy wrote down everything about their journey.

Said cricket pulled out a tiny book and flipped through the pages, a frown appearing on his face and deepening the more he went. "Gee, there's only one sentence...'Thank Naminé.' I wonder who that is."

Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at one another and then shook their heads—the name didn't ring any bells.

"Some journal that is," Donald muttered under his breath.

Sensing an impending meltdown was imminent when Jiminy flushed a deep red, Sora jumped in quickly before anything could happen. "Well, we may not know what happened to us, but since everyone's fine, that's good enough for me!"

"Why don't we go outside and find out where we are," Goofy added. "Maybe Riku and the King are around somewhere."

After Jiminy tucked himself back into one of Sora's many pockets, the trio made their way outside and was instantly in awe of the warm colors of the sky above.

"Look at that!" Donald exclaimed as he pointed upwards.

"What a beautiful sunset," Goofy agreed as he craned his neck to look.

Sapphire eyes soon followed suit, glazing over to reflect the image. "You know, I think I've been to this town," Sora said, sounding slightly transfixed.

Goofy lowered his gaze as the trees of a rather dark and dense forest blocked the sun and the view above, moving them to the brunet male instead. "What's it called?"

Though the name of it was right at the tip of his tongue, as soon as the sky disappeared and gave way to heavy foliage it seemed to escape him, and Sora shook his head as if trying to clear the haze that had shortly took over. "Guess I must've imagined it."

Donald raised an eyebrow at the keyblader's odd behavior, and found the boy slowly gaining speed on them as they neared a hole in the wall that came into view.

"Hurry up you guys!" Sora called urgently as he all but ran forward.

"What? What is it?" the duck-like creature asked as he and Goofy walked faster to keep up, a noise sounding like a crowd of people becoming louder as they approached the exit.

"It's a fair!" the fifteen-year-old exclaimed once they emerged from the darkness and back under the twilight sky, rushing deeper into the chaos of people.

Donald had almost fainted right on the spot. With the way Sora had been acting, and with all the voices, he thought there might have been a Heartless attack or something, and the anti-climatic end sapped away all his energy. Why was Sora so excited before they even left the forest? Did he know a festival was going on? "Man, Goofy, Sora's—" Donald stopped abruptly when he turned towards his companion only to find Goofy holding a stick of cotton candy and playing a game at a nearby stand. "You too?" he grumbled, eyebrow twitching, but an uproar of angry voices on the other side of the street caught his attention. "A fight?"

"What'd you do that for, huh, lamer?" a tall boy wearing a beanie over his blonde hair spoke down to another, slightly shorter blonde male wearing camo pants.

"Because you jabbed me with your elbow, look!"

"Well I didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident!"

"You really expect me to believe that, Seifer?"

"You better, unless you wanna take a bite out of my knuckle sandwich." The sound of a fist hitting an open palm was heard.

"Hey, cut it out!"

The two blondes turned their heads to look at the person who was butting in and found a brunet male in clothes that didn't seem to fit him anymore, carrying a wad of cotton candy in one hand, a balloon filed with water tied on a string in the other hand, and a mask around the side of his head.

"What did you say?" Seifer hissed at the newcomer—he had never seen the kid around before, and something he hated more than people sticking their heads in where it didn't belong were strange foreign people in his Town.

"I_said_ stop fighting," Sora repeated, looking quite annoyed at the taller blonde. "What are you, six?"

"S-Sora!" Donald stammered in alarm before rushing to grab Goofy. One of the things they were never allowed to do was meddle in the affairs of other worlds—at the very least, antagonizing the townspeople wasn't going to help them. Just _what_ had gotten into Sora?

"Shut up, you preachy little—" Before Seifer could finish his sentence, he was shocked into silence as the brunet boy threw the water balloon at him, causing it to break and drench his face with water. The beanie boy sputtered, opening his mouth to say something else, but the cotton candy had been stuffed inside the open hole. A muffled sound escaped him, undoubtedly a curse, and he watched wide-eyed as Sora put the string of the mask around his left thumb and was pulling it back like a slingshot. Before Seifer could blink he was smacked in the face with the improvised weapon.

Hayner stifled a laugh at the utter humiliation his arch nemesis just faced at the hands of some unknown kid, and he watched with a heavily amused gaze as the taller blonde spat the cotton candy out and slammed the mask to the ground as an equally irate Fuu approached them, flanked by Rai and Vivi.

"You...you...!" Seifer's voice shook as he failed to find just the word he was looking for to call the keyblader, blinking away the access water that was still dripping down his face. "I'll remember this!" was what he yelled instead before stalking off with the rest of his Disciplinary Committee.

"Heh," Hayner said as he watched Seifer's retreating back disappear around the corner before moving his chocolate gaze to the brunet male in front of him. "Nice job, kid."

"Hayner!" a girl's voice called out, and Sora, who had raised his hand to scratch the back of his head sheepishly at the blonde boy's comment, turned to see a brunette girl running towards them, followed close behind by a headband wearing boy whose hands were full of food.

"Hayner, are you all right?" Olette asked once she stopped beside him. "I heard the commotion all the way down the street. Seifer didn't do anything, did he?"

"Nah," the camo-wearing boy replied, waving his friend's worry away with his hand. "You should've seen this kid in action."

Sora opened his mouth to introduce himself so he wouldn't have to be called 'the kid' again, but as the two newcomers turned their attention on him he found himself at a loss for words. Especially at the girl's soft gaze...it reminded him so much of Kairi..._Kairi_... Blinking out of his stupor, Sora stood a little straighter as if he just realized what was going on. Oh god, what did he just _do_, getting into a fight like that? If Donald saw him, he was so...

"Sora!"

Speak of the devil. Turning towards the owner of the voice, four pairs of eyes watched as a duck-like and dog-like creature approached them.

"What were you thinking?!" Donald scolded the keyblader before turning his attention to the trio of kids. "I'm sorry about his behavior..."

Hayner held up a hand to stop the blue-affinity male from saying anymore. "No problem. He practically saved my life. Name's Hayner, by the way. The pretty girl's Olette and Pence is the one lugging the food."

Pence, who had been silent thus far, suddenly spoke up, sounding just as suspicious as the look he was giving Sora and his companions. That duck had said 'Sora', right...? "Hey, what're your names?"

"Oh, sorry!" Goofy said with a chuckle. "We're Sora, Donald, and Goofy," he replied, gesturing to each person in turn as he said their names.

The trio blinked in surprise and looked at each other before returning their gaze back at them.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, we _just_ met someone who was looking for you," Olette said.

"He sure seemed in a hurry," Pence added. "He had a black coat on so you couldn't see his face," he continued, making dramatic hand gestures with his free hand, "but he had these big round ears."

The defeaters of Ansem crossed their arms in thought before they all came to the same, and rather only, conclusion.

"The King!" Donald exclaimed to the nods of his two friends.

"Gawrsh! The King's trying to find us!" Goofy said happily.

"Where'd you see him?" Sora asked urgently.

"At the Station," Pence replied.

"C'mon, we'll take you," Hayner offered, and the group started to make their way from the fairgrounds towards the train station.

"So, we haven't seen you guys around before," Pence said as a way to make conversation as they walked. "When did you guys get here?"

"We're not even sure where 'here' is," Sora answered honestly. "We just...woke up here."

"Well, let me be the first to say: Welcome to Twilight Town!" Olette greeted cheerfully.

"Thank you," the keyblader responded, unable to help himself from smiling broadly—he didn't notice Donald and Goofy peering around to look at him from where they walked on either side of him.

After swallowing the piece of food he had stuck in his mouth, Pence said, "So, you don't know how you got here? Sounds like a mystery!" The headband-wearing boy turned to look at his two best friends as he continued. "Do you think he was forced to have brain surgery to eliminate his memories?"

Olette smiled softly, reaching a hand to pat the boy on the shoulder, and Hayner rolled his eyes to the sky and angled his body towards Sora as he lifted a hand up as if it could block what he was going to say from Pence's ears. "Uh, you're probably better off ignoring him when he gets like this. He's a big fan of the wackiest things."

The group slowed to a stop as they reached the area in front of the station where the Twilight Town gang had met Mickey, but it was as empty as it was when they had left it.

"He's probably somewhere inside, that's where he was headed when he ran off...what is it?" Hayner trailed off when he noticed an expression on Sora's face that he couldn't quite place—it looked ridiculously happy, but sort of bittersweet at the same time. "You've got this silly grin."

"Huh?" Sora, the look on his face now surprised and confused, and the moment was now gone. "Did I?"

"You're a weird guy," Hayner said, chuckling as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Yeah..." Sora agreed, lifting a finger to scratch at the side of his face absentmindedly. "I _feel_ kinda weird. Since before..." He thought back to when they had first left the old mansion that they had been sleeping in. _Man, what is coming over me?_

"Maybe the teller saw where he went," Olette said after silence had fallen upon the group, and they made their way up the steps and through the large doors.

Before she had a chance to even approach the ticket counter, though, Donald had shouted, "Sora! Something's here!"

Everyone turned to look out through the doors they had just passed and felt their blood go cold at the sight of a whole group of white creatures pressed upon the glass, trying to get in.

"What the—what _are_ those things?!" Hayner yelled, his voice going a noticeably higher octave, and Pence barely felt the food in his hands slip through his numbed fingers and crash to the ground.

Olette screamed as one began to push through the doors, getting its head in, and Sora rushed to stand in front of her as she brought her hands to her mouth; Donald and Goofy had also jumped to protect their newfound friends, though none of them knew what they were up against—it certainly didn't look like Heartless.

Figuring the Keyblade couldn't hurt to help fight whatever the creatures were, Sora was posed to summon it, but before he could something black had dropped down from above and quickly disposed of the enemies.

Still alert despite the coast looking clear, King Mickey turned towards the shell-shocked group, his Keyblade pointed forward as if it would keep lookout while his attention was elsewhere. "Hurry and take the train! Get out of town!" he said quickly, though the urgency was easy to catch. "The train knows where to go!"

"Your Majesty...?" Donald and Goofy yelled in disbelief, and Sora relaxed his stance, looking amazed. The three of them ran forward, though Mickey took just as many steps forward to keep a distance between them.

"Shh," he hushed them gently. "I can't come back yet. This is for you, Sora."

The brunet male cupped his hands together to catch the item the King had thrown at him, only looking up when Donald said desperately, "Your Majesty!", and he looked back up from the pouch, pocketing it, to see the retreating form of the Keyblade Master.

"The King...Was that really him?" Sora asked, unsure if he should believe his eyes.

"It coulda been..." Goofy started, sounding just as uncertain as Sora, but when he finished, he was absolutely positive. "Yep, I know it was!"

"Now we know he's okay!" Donald said happily.

Sora crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side as he thought back to what had happened, feeling a budding hope start to grow at what it could all mean. "The King was locked in the Realm of Darkness, right?"

"Uh-huh," Goofy replied.

"But we just saw him..."

Donald nodded, "Yep!"

"And if the King is here," and the two of them knew Sora didn't mean 'here' as in Twilight Town, but 'here' as in the Realm of Light, "That means _Riku's_ here!"

"He's gotta be!" the shortest of the trio said encouragingly.

Sora smiled to himself, knowing exactly what he was going to do—look for Riku and go back to the Islands together, where Kairi was there waiting for them. _But..._ Sora looked at Donald and Goofy, who looked back at him, also aware of what the brunet male's next step was. They had just seen their King again...would they really want to leave with him? "...What are you two gonna do?"

Donald and Goofy looked sour at the question. "Gawrsh, Sora. Do you have to ask?" the tall dog-like creature retorted with his own question.

The Keyblader laughed, both out of relief and at the constipated looks on his friends' faces.

"What's so funny?" Donald asked grumpily.

Sora pointed at them and laughed harder. "Look at each other!" As the two of them did as they were told, the teenager smiled at their chuckles before turning to see how his Twilight Town friends were doing. "Are you guys okay?" he asked as he ran back towards them.

Aside from looking pretty spooked, it didn't seem like any of them were harmed. "Yeah...that was just...whoa," Hayner replied for lack of a better word.

"You guys have to go, right?" Olette inquired as the sound of a train entering the station was heard from the level above them, glad for the distraction from the potentially life-threatening situation they were all facing just moments before. "You better hurry and get your tickets."

"Right." With that, Sora went to the counter as Donald and Goofy rejoined the group, and the duck looked up at the brunette girl with a raised eyebrow as she peered around Sora to look at the pouch he had taken out to pay the tickets.

"What is it?" Donald asked her.

Instead of answering verbally, Olette turned around and dug into her pocket, pulling out her own munny pouch.

"They're the same!" Goofy commented.

"Yeah..." she trailed off, deep in thought. They couldn't know what the big deal was, but Olette knew it was impossible for Sora to have her pouch—only one existed. _Just where did he get it from?_

After the keyblader got the tickets, they all moved towards the stairs that led up to the platforms, but when Sora soon slowed to a stop, the group was forced to do the same.

"I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again..." Sora explained his actions, sounding devastated and looking like he was about to cry; the Twilight Town gang wasn't aware they were mirroring the brunet male's expression.

"Why not?" Donald asked.

"You're thinking too much," Goofy told him.

"Yeah..." Sora agreed weakly, before shaking the foreboding feeling away. "You're right!" he said more confidently, and he looked at Hayner, Pence and Olette, who put on smiles and nodded.

Climbing the stairs, the group approached the waiting purple train decorated with stars, and Donald and Goofy waved at the trio as they boarded the train. Sora turned to face them, and swallowed a lump in his throat at the sight of Olette waving with both her hands, Pence with one arm behind his head and the other high in the air swaying, and Hayner with a hand on his hip and the other up causally, not moving.

"Bye," Sora whispered softly, and the trio looked alarmed as a tear streaked down his face. "Huh?" he said, surprised, and he rubbed at his eyes furiously as he felt more tears pushing to break free.

"You okay?" Olette asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah. Don't know where it came from," he replied, though he still sounded sullen.

Hayner chuckled as he watched Sora slap his face with both hands. "Pull it together!"

"Right...See ya!" Sora shouted, waving as he entered the train.

"Come back sometime!" Pence called out before the door closed, and they smiled as the other boy nodded, watching as his eyes became watery again.

The trio stared as the train began to pull out of the station, and the headband-wearing boy followed the locomotive until there was no more platform left, his two best friends running to keep up behind him. They all stood there until they could no longer see the train anymore, and Pence sighed dejectedly as he turned back to face Hayner and Olette.

"Weird guy," Hayner said as he crossed his arms, an unreadable look on his face.

"But..."

Pence didn't finish his sentence, but a small smile graced Olette's face, and she knew exactly what her friend was thinking. "Yeah," the brunette girl agreed with Pence's unspoken thought. "It feels like we've meet him before."

A long but comfortable silence followed before Hayner clapped his hands together and tried to casually lead the way back to town. "Well, nothing more to do but head back to that fair, huh—"

He was cut off by Olette's hand grabbing the back of his vest and pulling him back. "Ah, not so fast! We have homework to do, remember!"

"Man, you have the memory of a hawk!"

"Eyes, Hayner. The expression is 'you have eyes like a hawk'."

Pence watched with a fond look as his friends lightly bickered about nothing important as they made their way down the stairs, and after one final look back down the empty track, he ran after them.

xoxoxoxox

"So, he's gone."

DiZ stood alone on the same cliff Roxas and his friends were standing on a couple of days earlier, watching the same train that only Roxas was able to see disappear over the horizon. Piercing eyes, the only part of his body not covered in red cloth, glanced briefly at the empty beach in the distance before sweeping his long clothes behind him as he made his way down the slope.

It was time for him to clear out, too.

* * *

**author' s notes:** At first, I wasn't planning on writing Sora's section about him waking up from the pod, since this _is_ supposed to be mainly from the POV of anyone _but_ Sora. I was originally going to cut right to where Sora interrupts Hayner and Seifer fighting, but when I realized it might've been odd to have Sora acting oddly without any explanation on his part, I decided to start back from the beginning. As well, I figured anything that happened in Twilight Town was fair enough game.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and stick around for the next, where things finally begin to hit the fan for the Twilight Town gang. Maybe Riku bringing back that pouch, that DiZ specifically told him to delete, has something to do with the whole paradox thing Axel was briefly thinking about on the beach!


	16. The Merge

** author' s notes:** Hello guys! Sorry for the late delay in this chapter, once again. If I didn't realize today was the anniversary of publishing this story, it probably still wouldn't have been updated. But I worked hard to get it in today, so I hope you like it! (I'll have to read it back to make sure I didn't rush though it, either.) But wow, I can't believe it's been _six years_ since I started this thing. That's really...insane. But thankfully, this story is sorta almost at its end!

Special thanks to badkidoh, Phyxrgon, purplefreak2693 & darklightningdevil, Microtoa for the alerts and reviews! I hope I haven't forgotten to mention anyone.

As for Belle's anonymous review, thank you! Roxas's last few moments in Twilight Town were really too sad. I wish him and Sora were separated in the games! I needed more Roxas, too, which was probably why I started this story a week earlier even though that began to mess up the whole 358/2 Days timeline, haha. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, though. Please continue reading!

You guys truly keep me motivated to continue writing this story. You guys are the best!

* * *

**Chapter XVI:** The Merge

_Termination command detected._

_Data merge program initializing._

_Warning: Abortion unauthorized._

_World connection: Good._

_Amalgamation complete: One percent._

_Estimated time duration:_

_...Calculating..._

_Unknown._

xoxoxoxox

Had DiZ been aware of what his final action before leaving the Town would set into motion, he probably would've second-guessed his decision to wipe the hard drives of the computers in the basement of the Old Mansion clean.

And when Sora would later be informed by Chip and Dale of the impossibility of what had happened on the world map, and that feeling of foreboding that he had forced away returned, he could have considered a job as a fortune teller in the event his Keyblader gig went south.

For not long after the foreign visitors had all left—

—Twilight Town disappeared.

xoxoxoxox

When the alarm went off that first school day morning after summer vacation, Olette was already wide awake. In fact, she had been for a while—not long after the Clock Tower rang midnight, to be more specific. The reason wasn't out of excitement or nervousness, though that would've been the case had it been any other _normal_ circumstance. Considering all the _ab_normal things that had been happening lately, though, having something strange occurring was the norm.

She was pretty sure the pressing migraine that had been assaulting her for hours now was a cause for concern, however.

An unsteady hand shot out from beneath the covers the brunette girl had cocooned herself in to turn off the jarring noise of the clock, using a bit more force than necessary, and she sighed contently in the minor reprieve of the silence that followed after. Unfortunately, the relief was short-lived, and the feeling that her head was going to explode returned with a vengeance.

Groaning at the thought of what a long day was ahead of her if her headache continued, Olette eventually began to pull herself out of bed after lying there for a little while longer. Since her first foot out had hit something solid, the brunette girl didn't think anything was amiss until she stood up to plant her other foot down, only to find the world was tilting. A gasp found itself stuck in her throat as she fell backwards, arms flailing for something to hold onto but failing to before emerald eyes closed tightly in preparation for the inevitable impact.

As per the law of physics, the fifteen-year-old girl did indeed fall, but it wasn't the hard wood floors of her bedroom that she had been expecting. Instead, Olette found that she had landed on a bunch of protective equipment, which was slightly ironic considering it was a skateboard that had caused her to slip in the first place.

"But I don't skateboard...how did any of this get here?" she wondered to herself as she reached to grab the chunk of wood with wheels attached to it. As the brunette girl twisted the board around in her hands, emerald eyes caught movement as something fluttered from the bottom of it and landed on her lap.

Curiously, Olette lowered the white skateboard down and picked up the glossy rectangular paper instead, feeling both her heart and time stop for a long second as she gazed at what was on the other side.

"Sora?!" she exclaimed, but immediately after she felt that there was something wrong about that statement. Sure, that was definitely her, and she was surely skateboarding, but the blonde-haired male that seemed to be showing her how to board—and whom she was holding hands with, though Olette tried to overlook that part least too much blood went to her face—_wasn't_ Sora.

"But...Sora looks like him..." the teenager murmured with half-lidded distant eyes, not questioning why she had worded it that way—most people would've commented how much the boy looked like Sora, not the other way around. What she _was_ questioning, however, was just _who_ the guy was, and _why_ she had his stuff in her room. At least, that's what she assumed, considering upon a second inspection of the space around her she noticed she had two skateboards and two sets of protection equipment. She could've possibly written off one set as her own and had somehow forgotten about it, but two was too much to convince herself of some half-baked excuse.

Trying to figure out what the heck was happening plagued her mind as she got ready for school, and it definitely wasn't helping the whole migraine situation. By the time she made it downstairs in a black skirt, cream fitted short-sleeved shirt with black cuffs accented with a black bow and orange vest—the female uniform for the local high school—Olette was just about ready to label herself insane. She, for one, had one of the skateboards tucked under an arm, along with her schoolbag on one shoulder and the protective gear grasped in a hand, and two, she was on the verge of believing that maybe something...otherworldly was going on.

And that was something which was Pence's territory, not hers.

Noting the aspirin bottle on the counter as she made her way to the fridge to pour herself some orange juice, Olette figured she wasn't the only one suffering from a pounding headache and hoped that her parents were feeling okay. Forgoing a pill herself and deciding she'd just deal with it the old-fashioned way, the brunette girl was soon out the door with a piece of buttered toast between her teeth.

After locking up, Olette hadn't taken more than a few steps from her house before she stopped, remembering she had a faster mode of transportation on her. Hesitantly, the teenage girl placed the skateboard down on the cobblestone ground and, after putting on the protective gear she was carrying, an equally unsure foot on top of the flat surface.

_"Balance is important with skateboarding, too."_

Inhaling sharply, Olette turned her head to look around for the male voice she had suddenly heard, but found that the street was empty aside from her. _But then, where did that voice come from?_ the brunette girl asked herself internally, though she could only come up with one reason—the voice came from within her, much like her own inner voice. But how could she just make up a voice like that, and a male one to boot? _Can it belong to _him_?_ Olette questioned, looking down at her book bag, where she had placed the photo of her and the mysterious blonde teen to show Hayner and Pence.

Head swirling with the impossibility of the entire situation, she continued on with what she was doing, placing her second foot up and holding her arms out slightly to balance herself. The brunette girl wobbled unsteadily at first, distantly wondering if this was why she was holding onto the blonde male's hands and yearned for that support again. It wasn't too long after that thought that she was able to solidly carry herself, and one had to wonder if some invisible force had come to answer her plea.

_"Just put one foot on the middle of the board, and push off on the ground with the other,"_ the voice returned, as if knowing that the girl was ready to move on to the next step. Feeling her speed pick up by the feel of her hair fanning out behind her by the wind, she unconsciously placed her pushing foot behind her, riding it out and repeating when she lost speed as if her body was on autopilot, tapping into previous lessons Olette didn't remember taking.

Emerald eyes widened as she steadily approached the turn in the road she was supposed to take to the train station—_"Turning is all about using your hips downward,"_— and her heart pounded frantically as she followed instructions. By the time Olette made the journey to Station Plaza, she was slowly coming to a stop near the steps by the natural progression of no speed, and tears were welling up in her eyes as a playful banter between her and the mysterious blonde teen on that very topic of how to stop played through her mind.

Stepping off the board, Olette dropped down to a squat, burying her face in her hands as she cried harder. _Why?_ Why was she suddenly so _sad_? It was like there was some sort of disconnect between her body and her brain—one was reacting to something the other couldn't link to yet._How could I not know the person who's affecting me like this_?

After breathing in and out slowly to calm herself down and stop her incessant tears, Olette eventually raised her head to wipe her face of any leftover residue. She froze in her ministrations as green and blue eyes met, and the brunette girl's brows furrowed as she watched Luna, who stood on the top landing of the stairs, looking back at her as if she wanted to come and comfort her, but feeling something—guilt?—keep the blonde girl away. A moment of internal debating passed, and Luna bowed her head in either shame or embarrassment before disappearing through the tall glass automatic doors.

Olette's confusion was evident, and awkwardly she picked up her skateboard and got to her feet, climbing the steps to go through the same doors. Sure, she knew Luna—they were the same age, were in the same grade and even shared some classes through the years—but they never really hung out too much outside of school. For that, she could understand the other girl's hesitation to approach her in her distress, but... _What was that look of guilt?_ As Olette boarded the train that would take her to school—the compartment she was in void of any sign of Luna, she noted—she tried to think back if something had happened over summer vacation, but everything felt muddled, and once again the harder she tried to remember the more her migraine pushed back.

Eventually she decided to let it go, partly because her head felt a little better as far as her headache was concerned when things came back to her naturally. The other part was due to the fact that she had something else she had to deal with now as she disembarked the train and headed up the winding uphill path to the school situated at the top of the hill, unbuckling her helmet but deciding to keep the rest of the equipment on for now.

Ironically, on school days, Hayner and Pence beat her to school—probably because their parents didn't allow them to sleep in as they did on off days. But where she would've headed into the classroom, they decided to find a tree to doze under until she came to wake them up, and indeed that was where she had found them upon reaching school grounds.

Olette smiled slightly at the sight of her friends sitting against the trunk of the large tree, heads leaning upon each other with Hayner's mouth hanging open so wide flies could build a nest inside. "Hey, I can see what you ate for dinner!" she joked, nudging the two of them with the side of her shoe, not wanting to dirty their uniforms—which, aside from having black pants and a tie instead of a bow, wasn't much different from her own— any more than it probably already was.

Pence had fallen over from the tap and was subsequently awoken when he hit the ground, but Hayner was slightly more graceful with his return to consciousness. With a yawn that she would've compared to a little lion club yawning, the dirty blonde male wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and gave a sleepy smile to the brunette girl that stood before him.

"'ello, Letty," the leader of the gang greeted, becoming more awake as he noticed the padding that covered the girl's elbows and knees. "Planning on falling a lot today?" he commented, nodding to the protective equipment.

"I didn't know you knew how to skateboard," Pence said as he sat up, his lower vantage point causing him to notice the skateboard tucked under her arm. The dark haired boy's words caught Hayner's attention, whose gaze shifted to look at said transportation device.

"Yeah, neither did I," the emerald-eyed girl sighed as she sat down and began to remove her elbow and knee pads.

"Wow," Hayner whistled, putting an arm behind him to lean back on. "Can this day get any weirder? It's not even eight yet."

"'Any weirder'?" Olette repeated, unsure of whether to be confused or insulted. "I'm sure me skateboarding isn't the end of the world."

"Do you have a headache right now?" Pence questioned, seeming to change the subject all of a sudden. He wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry when she looked at him as if he had a third, psychic, eye.

"How did you...?"

"Because I do, Hayner does, our parents do, and I'd bet every last sea salt ice cream in the world that everyone else in Twilight Town does, too. It's as if today was programmed to be national migraine day or something."

_'Programmed...'_ Olette repeated in her head, for some reason finding it an interesting choice of words. Sure enough, when she took a quick look around the courtyard she saw a trio of students by the gate holding a hand to their heads, and others grimacing while trying to hide the pain they were feeling. And if she had x-ray vision to see into the school building, she would've found a lineup to the nurse's office for students wanting something, anything, to dull the ache, and even more in the classrooms, trying to sleep it off like Pence and Hayner were attempting to do when she found them this morning.

Shivering at how eerie the phenomenon that gripped Twilight Town was, the brunette girl froze as she remembered what she wanted to show her best friends. "I think things are about to get even weirder," she told them in a voice that was so soft it was almost a whisper. Opening her bag, she placed the padding inside before pulling out the photo and holding it out to them wordlessly.

The headband-wearing boy (who had managed to get away with wearing said headband by saying it matched the colour scheme of their uniform) naturally reached out for it first, seeing as photography was a major hobby of his. As caramel-coloured eyes scanned the image, his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Sora?!"

Intrigued by the other male's outburst, Hayner leaned in to have a look, his own chocolate brown eyes widening before he snatched the picture up to have an even closer look. "But wait, this guy's blonde...and we just met Sora yesterday, and it seems like this photo was taken before that...are you holding hands with this guy?!" he yelled out the last observation, his grip on the photo tightening slightly.

Olette blushed and quickly looked down, fidgeting her hands in her lap. She had been trying all morning not to focus on the fact that she seemed awfully close to such a cute guy. "I...I think he taught me how to skateboard."

"So who is he? I've never seen him around before," Pence asked as he crossed his legs and leaned forward to lean against them.

The brunette girl shook her head. "That's the thing—I don't know. All this skateboard stuff and that photo just mysteriously appeared in my room overnight or something. I was hoping you guys might've remembered him, but..." she trailed off, seeing as the outcome of that wish was an obvious negative. "Pence...maybe you were onto something yesterday. About memories..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Hayner interrupted, waving his hand that held the photo around to physically stop what was being said. "First Pence was dreaming about homework and now you're going all supernatural conspiracies on me? Do I need to separate you two or something?"

Pence laughed nervously, honestly feeling a little spooked himself. Sure, he said such things all the time, and wanted to believe them to be true to a certain extent, but to have one of his friend's actually believe him...?

The look on Olette's face showed that she wasn't joking, though. "Think about it. Widespread headaches, tampered memories, things that shouldn't exist do, and people that should be no longer are..._Something_ has to be going on... right?"

Her question was met with silence. They knew she had a point, for all those things she mentioned were too big to simply write off as odd coincidences. But to admit that something that huge was going on was hard to wrap their heads around.

"Aw, man, my brain is so blown right now," Hayner groaned, which grew louder as the ten-minute warning bell sounded.

Pence laughed when the other male dropped his head into his hands in defeat. "At least you don't need to think on the first day."

xoxoxoxox

A week later, when the migraines, which still hadn't gone away, were reduced to a dull ache in the background that was more manageable, the Twilight Town gang's class found themselves standing in front of the Underground Concourse. It was the school's Green Week, and everyone had to go out and do their part to beautify and clean the Town, and their class had been assigned a section of the Concourse.

The trio stood together somewhere in the middle of the pack as their teacher explained what was going to happen, and Olette crossed her arms as a feeling of anxiety and fear began to creep up on her. Although she had yet to step inside since it just reopened from its summer closure that morning, she had been inside the underground path more times before that than she could count—so why was she suddenly so nervous about going in?

Beside her, Hayner laughed and nudged her arm, nodding to Seifer and the rest of his Disciplinary Committee who stood off more to the side. "Look at him! He's about ready to high-tail it out of here!"

She and Pence, who stood on her other side, shared a look after gazing upon the beanie-wearing blonde, who was able to wear the hat with the uniform on the sole basis that he was the leader of the Town's Disciplinary Committee. As far as they could see, Seifer looked as cool as a cucumber, though perhaps his arms seemed a little too tightly crossed across his chest. The two of them knew that Hayner and Seifer were once close friends, and attributed that to the dirty blonde male being able to more acutely read the other blonde male's body language.

"I wonder what's up," Pence curiously questioned, his eyes now doing a sweep over everyone in their class, stopping at a pale-blonde girl who couldn't stand still for very long. Every so often, her sapphire eyes would dart between Seifer, Olette, and then to nothing in particular. "Even Luna seems skittish about something."

Although the news should've made her feel better about not being the only one wigging out about entering the Concourse, it only made Olette feel more troubled. _Something's wrong._ "I have a bad feeling about this, guys," the brunette girl told her friends as she hugged herself, as if the action could contain her worry. Hayner looked over to her, concern taking over as he realized her uneasiness, and Pence wrapped a brotherly arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. She gave them both a small smile in thanks.

"All right," the teacher concluded. "Everyone group up, grab a garbage bag, some gloves, a picking stick or a broom, and let's get to work!"

After retrieving said equipment, the trio entered the tunnel, and the roof above her head only made Olette's heart race faster. Without realizing she was doing it, the brunette girl looked back to check if the pull down metal door was still open, which it was. Feeling she was getting paranoid, she decided to busy herself with sweeping, hoping to hide the shaking of her hands.

Not even ten minutes later, it happened.

There was a sudden commotion behind them, where Seifer seemed to be having some sort of panic attack, trying to push past the students that were blocking his way to the exit. A pounding in Olette's ears, which she later realized was her heart, blocked her hearing so much that she didn't realize Hayner was speaking to her until he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her.

"Letty, calm down. You're hyperventilating!" he told her urgently, feeling she was going downhill quickly.

_I can't breathe. I can't breathe!_ Olette tried to verbally relay her thoughts, but her mouth merely opened and closed with no sound coming out but a shuttering gasp for air. Emerald eyes jumped frantically to Hayner and Pence before landing on a certain blonde who had froze in his movements to look back at her with a fearful expression she was sure mirrored her own.

Seifer's cobalt blue eyes were the last thing Olette saw before everything went black.

xoxoxoxox

Something felt...familiar. It was dark, but something warm was anchoring her, keeping her from drifting away into nothingness. Again, she was hit with the sense of familiarly. _But where...?_

Lethargically, emerald eyes opened, blinking as she took in her surroundings. She didn't recognize the ceiling as her own back at home, but the constant beeping noise was a tell-a-tale sign that she was in the hospital. _How many times have I woken up in here now?_ Olette thought, before blinking in confusion. This was her first time, wasn't it?

Shifting in bed, the brunette found a warmth coming from her right hand. Turning her head in that direction, her heart skipped a beat when she saw blonde hair, her mind instantly jumping to her mysterious skateboard teacher from the photo, but found herself slightly disappointed when she realized it was Hayner's hand that held hers instead. Why did she think it would be the other male, anyway?

"Hey, you're up!" a voice said cheerfully, and Olette looked up to see Pence come into the room carrying a couple drinks from a vending machine. "Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty," the dark-haired teen teased as he placed the cold drink against Hayner's cheek, who shot straight up in his seat upon contact.

"What the—!" Hayner cried, shooting a sleepy glare towards the photo-taking fiend. "Pence, I oughta—" He cut himself off again when he heard a giggle beside him, and the leader turned to see Olette smiling at him.

"Hey there," she greeted him with a slight tilt of her head.

"Olette!" the dirty blonde male exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, realizing he was still holding onto her hand when he unconsciously squeezed it and he let go with a light pink tint on his cheeks. "How're you feeling? You've been out of it all day."

"Better, but..." She frowned. "What happened?"

"That's what we wanna know," Pence answered as he came to half-sit on the bed, offering his drink to Olette who kindly declined. "You started hyperventilating like you couldn't breathe. You gave us all a heart attack when you just dropped to the floor. Not too long after Seifer collapsed, too."

"Yeah, and he was trying real hard to get out of that tunnel a few moments before that," Hayner added as sat back down in the chair he was occupying before and took a sip of his drink.

"Seifer?" Olette repeated, remembering locking gazes with him before she lost consciousness. Whatever might've happened in the Underground Concourse, she had a feeling they had gone through it together. It was also the only explanation possible—why else would they both have had a simultaneous attack? _But it's odd to try and rationalize something so irrational._ "This is gonna sound out there, but I think I had like a déjà vu moment back there. Like I was trapped in there before...with no air...with Seifer."

The brunette girl felt more than saw her best friends stiffen at the name of their group's supposed mortal enemy, and she swallowed, knowing what she was going to say next might also not go well with them. "I felt like something was going to happen before we even stepped foot in there—I told you guys, remember? But I don't know how I knew. The feeling was there, but there was no memory to back it up."

Lifting her emerald gaze from her lap where it previously was to look at her friends, Olette continued. "I know we never mentioned it since last week, but I don't think we can escape it anymore...I don't think _I_ can escape it anymore. Whatever's going on with our memories, with Twilight Town, with that boy...I want to find out. I _need_ to find out. I have to find him."

Again, much like after her little speech last week, what Olette said was met with silence. Hayner and Pence shared a look, communicating without speech, before the leader sighed and the other boy smiled sheepishly.

"We figured you'd say that," the dirty blonde male said as he slumped back in his chair.

Olette blinked at them in surprise. "You...what?"

"While you were out of it, Hayner and I realized we couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the first time you were in the hospital," Pence started clarifying. "And we didn't know which was worse—not remembering what happened or not being able to prevent something terrible from happening again."

"So we decided to kill two birds with one stone: figure out what the heck happened and set things right to stop history from repeating itself...And we knew you'd try and do it all yourself if we didn't get involved."

Emerald eyes looked at her friends in awe before she ushered them closer and put an arm around each of their shoulders in a hug. "Oh, you guys are the best! Where do we start?"

Pence laughed as he returned the embrace. "Whoa, wait until you're discharged why don't you, Letty," he said, half-teasing, half-serious. "And I couldn't shake the feeling that we _did_ do our summer homework before, but on a topic I don't remember sharing with anyone. It was something I was researching alone like ten months ago or something: 'The Seven Wonders of Twilight Town'."

"And there's another clue!" Olette piped up.

"What? Where?" Hayner asked, confused.

"Pence remembered something ten months back. The root of all of this must've happened somewhere around that time," the lone girl of the group pointed out, using a bit of logic to come to that conclusion.

"Wow...that was some deduction there, Letty," the leader praised with a proud smirk.

"No wonder we always try to copy your homework," the dark-haired boy added, causing the three of them to laugh.

Soon after the nurse came in to check on the patient, and after being told she would have to stay overnight just for observation, the two boys left with the promise that they would all see each other tomorrow.

xoxoxoxox

The next morning, Olette was changing into her school uniform as her parents were off signing her release papers. As she was finishing tying the bow and was pulling on the orange blazer there was a knock on the door, and she frowned slightly, turning to look at the wall clock. It was about twenty minutes too early for Hayner and Pence to have arrived, who said they were going to accompany her to school that day. And her parents couldn't have finished already. _So then who...?_ "Come in!" she called, her head turned towards the door though her body was still facing forward in the opposite direction.

The door opened slightly, but no head poked through. "...You're dressed, right?" came a reluctant voice that sounded a tad embarrassed.

Emerald eyes widened as she recognized the voice, and her whole body spun around to face the door. "Seifer, is that you?"

Indeed, when the door opened fully, Seifer waltzed through it, his cobalt blue eyes slowly inching their way to fall upon her as if he was still afraid he might've walked in at an inopportune time. "Yo," he eventually greeted.

"Hey..." she replied awkwardly, unsure of what to say. "Were you just released? How're you feeling?"

The Disciplinarily Committee leader laughed as if he couldn't believe he was having this conversation with a member of his worst enemy's group. He had the feeling that she wasn't a total lamer like the other two she hung out with, and while he couldn't understand where it came from, he was beginning to see some truth in it. "You should hate me, I know you should, and here you are wondering if I'm all right."

Olette looked to be at a loss for words for a moment. She knew Hayner would flip when he found out, but she also knew they were mostly at each other's throats only because of the bad blood between the two group leaders. "Hate's a bit of a strong word. Besides, I feel like we've gone through something that calls for a bit of a truce, don't you think?"

Seifer shrugged, not committing to anything. "I've been trying to figure out what that something is all night, but my head hurt the more I tried. And this morning, I just felt compelled to..." _See you,_ his mind completed for him, unable to say such an embarrassing thing aloud. "I don't know why. It's infuriating."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," the brunette girl supplied.

"Yeah, well...whatever. This is pointless if I don't remember anything." No goodbye was said, but somehow they both knew it was implied.

"Wait, Seifer!" Olette called after him as he moved towards the door. "Can I ask you something? Not as a member of your rival group, but as a resident of Twilight Town?" The beanie-wearing teen didn't say anything, but he ever so slightly moved to show that he was listening. She took it as her cue to continue. "We're planning on getting to the bottom of whatever's going on, and I have a feeling it may not go entirely smoothly. Will you...will you protect the Town?"

Seifer's body tensed, staring hard at the back of the door for a long while. _Just what are those lamers getting themselves into?_ "I would even if you didn't ask me," he answered gruffly. "And I'll have you know we won't be outmatched in solving this mystery."

Confusion and then surprise was evident in Olette's expression before she smiled, figuring it was somehow Seifer's way of saying he wasn't going to let them get hurt, either. "Thank you, Seifer."

Said boy just sniffed noisily before opening the door to reveal a blonde girl with an arm lifted, poised to knock. "Luna?" he uttered in shock.

"Seifer?" Luna said in equal amount of astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, the beanie-wearing boy changed the subject. "Remember, today after school."

As Luna moved aside to let the other teen pass, Olette caught sight of the other girl's reddened face and raised an eyebrow. _I wonder what happened between those two?_ "Hey, Luna...what brings you by?" she asked as the door closed behind the blonde female, not expecting her visit at all.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'm not in a rush or anything—"

"No, I mean, _I'm sorry_," Luna interrupted, screwing her eyes shut tightly as she apologized again. "It's something I've felt like I've wanted to tell you since the first day of school last week."

Olette blinked, remembering when she was crying in front of the steps of the train station that day, and when Luna had looked at her as if she felt guilty for something. "But...why?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like it has something to do with yesterday...with the Concourse. Something _terrible_ could've happened, and it would've been all my fault. I just know it."

"Luna..." the brunette girl said softly, eyebrows coming together in sympathy.

The vibrant colour of the blonde girl's eyes dulled slightly, as if she wasn't completely there. "So I came to apologize, because I don't think it reached you last time." Before the emerald-eyed girl could even open her mouth to question what 'last time' meant, the dazed Luna continued. "And you don't have to worry. I don't think I ever had a chance with him. He only had eyes for you."

He...did Luna mean _him_? Her mysterious blonde skateboard teacher? No one else had ever mentioned him, and the girl before her did so without even being shown the photo Olette had of him. Sprinting forward, the brunette girl grasped Luna by both her shoulders, barely able to refrain from shaking the other girl senseless. "Luna, who is he? Where is he now?"

But the haze that had covered Luna's eyes was gone, and clear cerulean eyes gazed back at her as if she didn't understand how Olette went from across the room to being a few feet away, holding onto her. "Who is...who?"

Slowly, disbelievingly, Olette released Luna, feeling a numbness take over her body. She had been so close to finding out something about him... "No...nothing. It's nothing," she lied.

"Well, I hope you can accept my apology," Luna began to conclude, watching as Olette nodded distractingly, her eyes misting. "See you in class," she finished, bowing slightly before leaving the room.

Without realizing how she got there, Olette lowered herself onto the bed and placed a hand over her heart, closing her fingers over the material of her uniform that covered that area.

_Just who are you? Where are you? Are you okay?_

_If I face forward, will I meet you again?_

* * *

**author' s: notes** So, that's the end of that chapter! What did you guys think? I think the next chapter will be a little more exciting with my take a certain character's visit. Plus, the full scene of Olette's kidnapping will be shown in the next chapter (or should, if it all goes well).

For those who're curious as to what Seifer meant to Luna about meeting after school: Luna, who was regaining some sense of memory from the digital Twilight Town, felt the need to apologize to Seifer and Olette. She had gone to visit Seifer the day before she met with Olette, and much like her digital self, had offered him a free meal at the diner. He had accepted it for that day after school. As well, the 'last time' Luna was referring to was the apology she had asked Roxas to pass on to Olette regarding the Concourse fiasco.

And if anyone thought Seifer was a little too worried about Hayner and the gang getting hurt, well, just think of it this way—if they got hurt he'd have no one to push around! Haha.

And a fun little tidbit: the last line of this chapter is a translation of a line in the Japanese song "Passion' by Utada Hikaru, the theme song of Kingdom Hearts II. As well, please go to my profile to find a link of the picture I used as Twilight Town's high school uniforms!

See you all soon!


	17. A Royal Visit

**author' s notes:** I know, I know, but...better late than never, right? Haha, I tried to get this out for Christmas, but I guess a belated gift and an early Happy New Year present is just as good! I hate how they keep changing the formatting on here—I have to keep changing all my chapters so they don't look utterly horrible. And I still see some italic space issues. Grrr.

I was honestly _so_ inspired to work on this after Dream Drop Distance came out, but then I just got bogged down by so many things. You should all know that I've basically rid myself of pretty much all distractions. I literally have _nothing_ else to do on my computer but work on this story! So I was able to actually write the majority of this chapter in the past few days, and voila, here it is!

I haven't personally played KH3D because of my aforementioned distaste of handheld consoles, but I've spoiled myself rotten on most of the important stuff, I think. I haven't checked in for a while, though. I was actually quite surprised, because long before this came out I was mulling over the idea of something akin to dream diving in my sequel...though it has been _six years_ since I started this thing, so...haha. My bad.

I'm not going to spoil anything, but I do have one question I would like to pose to all my readers. I'm so serious about this that I'm probably going to put up a poll on my profile for people who don't want to answer via a review or PM.

**What are your thoughts on Roxas being his own person versus Roxas actually being Ventus?**

I'm sort of torn between the two ideas and it's a _really_ important aspect in terms of setting the whole tone of the sequel, and thus impacts this story because it all connected. So I am heavily imploring you all to please get your answer to me in some way! I would deeply appreciate the input.

Special thanks to KristeKanata, AbysmalOblivion, Warrior of Virtue, badkidoh, a random reader, , mariko-chan ne, Midnight Fantasia Goddess, Nova Revant, julie, cookie monster gurl and BlazeRose13 for the alerts and/or reviews! It all truly meant the world to me and it kept me motivated to finish this! I hope I haven't forgotten to mention anyone or reply to anyone's review/PM. I try to save all the emails I get and respond to them immediately.

Regarding a random reader's anonymous review that I couldn't reply to via PM, I'm glad you think so! I hope you enjoy where the story went this chapter!

And julie's anonymous review that I couldn't reply to via PM, I'm so overjoyed that you enjoy my story so much! The way he went out in KHII was horrible! I mean, before 358/2 Days came out, we only had seven, no six, days of him! I was so sad.

And without further ado, here is the next chapter! I don't own anything but my thoughts! Please enjoy and review!

* * *

**Chapter XVII:** A Royal Visit

_Data merge program running._

_Warning: Abortion unauthorized._

_World connection: Stable._

_Elapsed time: Four months, thirteen days._

_Amalgamation complete: Twenty-two percent._

_Estimated time remaining:_

_...Calculating..._

_Unknown._

xoxoxoxox

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

Naminé looked up at Riku from her hiding spot in the garden of Disney Castle. Ever since their departure from Twilight Town all those months ago, the blonde Nobody had been shuffled between the teen before her and Axel, depending on who was 'on assignment', as she put it. Naturally, she enjoyed herself the most when she was with the silver-haired boy, but the cerulean-eyed girl noticed he was rather tense as of late.

Figuring that things were going to escalate very soon, Riku had suggested that they try to secure the safety of a certain red-headed close friend of his. However, considering his current state, the sixteen-year-old had reluctantly given the job to the former Order member. Whether it was due to not being able to relax unless he did the task himself or being unable to trust Axel to keep his end of the bargain, Naminé wasn't sure. It was the type of situation where one had to do it themselves to make sure it was done right, and the very thing that kept the Flurry on their side was the very thing that could cause him to go rogue.

The 'witch' felt a little guilty about Riku's anxiety—when the other had mentioned, just in spoken thought, about considering retrieving his other childhood friend, she had shared that she would've liked to meet her 'other' before she had to go through her own merge. Since then, the silver-haired male hadn't been able to stop thinking about it, until it was as much a reason to go through with the plan as the original reason of protection was. In an attempt to ease his worries, Naminé had suggested he could still protect his friend from a distance and watch over Axel from the shadows. Riku couldn't argue that logic, but now on the eve of his departure he felt he was abandoning his duty and leaving behind someone special to him for someone else who was just as important in his life.

"I'm sure," Naminé reassured. "You said the King had left this world a few weeks ago after Sora had saved it, right? So that rules out an enemy attack. Besides," the blonde girl paused, lifting up her right hand, where black wisps began to form, "I've been practicing."

Although she was a Nobody, Naminé had never created a portal to the Corridor of Darkness before. It wasn't even something she had thought about until Axel had asked her about it when Riku first left her with him after their meeting in Twilight Town. Considering she was first a prisoner in Castle Oblivion and then had no reason to escape while chaining back Sora's memories, it wasn't too much of a surprise. But now that she was essentially free, and on constant high alert of an attack from the Order, learning such a natural ability of a Nobody was essential.

Riku didn't seem convinced, though. Whatever had caused the disturbance earlier in Disney Castle was not caused by the Order, and he wouldn't put it past them to try and invade now that Sora had his attention elsewhere. "Naminé…"

"If something happens to her, neither of us will be able to forgive ourselves," the Nobody pleaded, grabbing onto both of Riku's gloved hands. "Please…" she whispered, squeezing the appendages in her hands in both desperation and reassurance.

A long, tense moment passed before Riku closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn't forgive himself if something happened to _either_ of them, but he was getting nowhere arguing with her like this—he had a feeling he wasn't going to win. The faster he left, the faster he could return. "...I'll be back."

Naminé smiled faintly and nodded, releasing his hands. "I'll be waiting."

With a stiff nod, the Ansem look-a-like turned around, opened a portal and disappeared without looking back, for he knew he would lose some of his resolve if he did.

The blonde Nobody's smile faded as the portal did, and she drew her knees towards her chest, holding her hand out to practice what Riku had just done. If something happened to her, her other would be harmed, and that outcome was unacceptable, so she had to give it her all to master the portals for a quick escape if need be. Naminé couldn't help it, though, as her mind continued to wander.

_Axel...I know you want to see him again, but don't do something you'll regret. You won't be able to take it back..._

xoxoxoxox

Riku walked unhurriedly, though with purpose, through the Corridor of Darkness, eyes vigilant in case he were to come across someone else while inside—and the chances of it being someone other than one of the XIII Order was slim to none. Although it seemed like an inconvenience in that sense, the fastest way of travel was through portals, and it wasn't like he had access to a gummi ship, anyway. And considering he had to open a pathway to a world he hadn't seen in a long time to watch from a safe distance the meeting of two red-headed individuals, if the green-eyed male hadn't made contact already, time was of the essence.

As the silver-haired male made his way through the corridor, a tear in the veil of Nobody symbols that ran throughout the expanse of the pathway caught his eye. He froze, tense—a tear could only have meant that someone had opened a portal and hadn't closed it properly. Cautiously, Riku approached the hole, planning on closing it fully so that no one on the other side could look in and see him, or worse, walk in without knowing the dangers of entering unprotected, but his hand stopped in mid-air as he recognized the world that the portal was opened to.

_The World That Never Was?_ the now amber-eyed teen thought to himself, now even more on guard. That world was the headquarters of the XIII Order, and he couldn't believe any of them were so careless as to not properly close their own portals. Carefully, Riku peered in to survey the surroundings, and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of a familiar dog roaming the damp streets. Wasn't that Pluto, the King's dog? _What in the world is he doing here?_ Before he could open his mouth to call the animal, another person caught both of their eyes, and Pluto, happy to have come across another living being, chased after the trench coat-wearing person. With the hood down, Riku recognized the bright red hair anywhere.

_Axel...what are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be picking up _her_? Or have you done so already and are preparing to betray us so soon...?_ Hard eyes narrowed, and he watched as the older male disappeared into another portal, not noticing the dog that was left behind him as the gateway closed before Pluto could follow the other inside. With the coast now clear, Riku opened the hole into a full portal and whistled to catch the animal's attention, and he squatted and beckoned the dog towards him when it turned around to face him.

"Come here, Pluto," he said with a voice much too deep to be his, and soon his arms were filled with the warmth and weight of the King's trusted dog. "Ah, ah, I know," Riku said as Pluto barked happily, as if trying to tell him of the man the dog was trailing right before he come along. As if afraid of what the dog would think of him now that he looked like the enemy that pulled his master away from him, Riku turned his head away before the dog could look into his hood and lick his face. "Let's go."

With that, Riku stood, and the two of them disappeared into the Corridor as the portal vanished, ready to stalk the movement of the apparent triple-crosser.

xoxoxoxox

The portal that had closed on the wall of one of the many the dead end alleys of the world opened up in one of the many staircases of The Castle That Never Was. Axel emerged from the gateway cautiously, looking around to make sure the area was completely empty. "No one is here...yet," he added, knowing his former alliance enough to know that it was only a matter of time before his appearance was well known. "I didn't want to come back at first, but I had no choice," Axel told himself as he looked down at his tattered and barely-kept together trench coat. It was, of course, ruined in his fight with Roxas in the digital Twilight Town.

"If this continues, it will get quite inconvenient to move around..." Although he was a Nobody, and was thus exempt from certain effects that came from using the Corridors of Darkness as a means of travel, the physical aspects, such as the amber eyes, was something that only the Black Coat he wore protected him from. "Though I still owe it to Naminé..." If she hadn't patched up his coat the first time 'Ansem' had left the girl in his care after their talk on the beaches of the real Twilight Town, he would surely be sporting a dark tan right then. But even that repair was reaching a limit, and Axel had no choice but to return for another coat.

Making his way to the laundry room of the Castle, Axel was pleasantly surprised to find a coat in the washing machine, still slightly damp as if it had just been put through a cycle. Unconcerned or unaware about how convenient the situation was, Axel pulled it out of the machine and held it out in front of him, using his power over fire to dry the garment without having to use the dryer. "Even though I don't who it belongs to, I'll just take it," he said with a cheeky grin, turning to face the mirrored wall across from the machines as he slipped it on. "All right, fits pretty good, too."

The very minute sound of something mechanical moving caught his attention, and Axel turned to see that a camera hanging on the ceiling from the corner was the source of it. "Is this what they call a closed-circuit camera? Man, this place has become an uncomfortable area to live in," the red-headed male muttered, turning to face the machine head on. "Or is it become of me? Really..." With a snap of his fingers, the camera, as well as drying machines below, ignited and blew up, and the smirk that settled on his face quickly disappeared as not too long after the alarm went off and the sprinkler system turned on to douse the flames.

"Oh, crap," Axel muttered, making a run for it as an automated voice came over the system.

"The camera at 15-7L has received damage. Unfortunately, there is an unknown trespasser. Please reinforce the security nearby."

_Unknown trespasser,_ the green-eyed Nobody scoffed as he ran. _Guess they really did install that thing after I left. I still can't believe this old place even has this, and with such a fast response time to boot._ As he rounded a corner, he stopped short as a group of Nobodies blocked his way, and he took a step back, lifting a hand to summon a portal. "Going away is the best...tactic?" he finished in a question, surprised to find more Nobodies pouring out the portal he had created.

"Tch, detestable," Axel said under his breath, summoning his chakrams as he was surrounded. He had no choice but to fight his way through now.

_"Let's meet again in the next life."_

_"Yeah...I'll be waiting."_

He couldn't die now. _He_ was waiting for him, and he wasn't going to disappear until then. _At that time, I really...wanted to leave with you,_ the Nobody thought as he tore apart the Nobodies that came at him, remembering the time Roxas had deflected from the Order and he couldn't find the words to make his best friend stay.

Surrounded by dying flames and black smoke, Axel's arms hung numbly at his sides as he stood alone now, not seeing anything as he stared into space.

_I...want to meet you again. For this goal... I..._

xoxoxoxox

There was nothing left but the scorched floors by the time the XIII Order descended upon the area where the Flurry of Dancing Flames was last recorded seen. In light of the break in, they gathered for an 'emergency meeting' in the Round Room, as they called it. Or, as Axel had once referred to it, the place where 'nothing good ever came from being in that room' room. Amber eyes took in the ever-diminishing numbers of his group following the betrayal of the exact person that was the subject of the meeting.

"Axel, he...?" Luxard started, looking around at his fellow Nobodies.

"It seems he stole a suit from the laundry room," Xaldin answered the unfinished question in a tone that held no emotion—perhaps his mind was elsewhere, thinking of the next step to take after his apparent stale-mate at the Beast's Castle.

An almost comical cry came next, and Demyx held his hands up to his face as he sobbed. "My spare clothes went missing!" the blonde male cried out, figuring the reason why was because Axel had taken them.

A laugh from across the room caught his attention, and teary eyes fell upon an amused Xigbar. "I say he's lucky that he didn't take Xaldin's clothes instead."

Ignoring the comments made by the other members, Saïx crossed both his arms and legs and turned his head in the direction of the still silent Superior. "The situation with Axel...shall I take care of it?" he offered in the form of a question. "I know what his next move is," the Luna Diviner added as if to better his chances of receiving the mission.

Although he couldn't tell since the hood was up, Saïx felt more than saw the Superior's gaze on him. If he were to take a guess, he would've thought the other male was trying to figure out just how he knew what the red-headed traitor was going to do. Whether the brown-skinned male figured it out or merely chalked it up to Saïx and Axel being best of friends in their past life was unknown, but...

"Okay," Xemnas agreed. "I'll leave him to you, Saïx."

...Traitors were always dealt with, without fail.

xoxoxoxox

She was standing in almost the same exact spot that she had been all those months ago, when Selphie gave her a small lecture about polluting as she sent a bottle with a message off into the waters towards the one dearest to her heart. It didn't appear to be a school day, though, as instead of her school uniform, the girl was wearing her peach-coloured attire instead.

"Was the letter received...?" Kairi asked the wind, her only companion as she had gone to the shoreline alone that day. With a soft sigh, the redheaded female looked down at the sand, where she began almost shyly kicking at the ground with her foot. "Sora...I'm waiting for your reply...still waiting...but..."

Stopping her kicking motions, the fifteen-year-old returned her gaze forward, staring unwaveringly at the second island that made Destiny Islands plural, memories of all the times she spent on the other side of the ocean replying through her mind.

"Maybe...waiting isn't good enough."

"I agree," a voice suddenly said, and Kairi looked around frantically for the owner of it. Steel blue eyes soon caught sight of a man with hair a much brighter shade of red than hers as he appeared from a dark portal only a few feet away from her.

"If you got a dream, don't wait," the emerald-eyed man continued when the girl saw him. "It's one of life's little rules. Got it memorized?"

Kairi remained silent for some time afterward, eyeing the older male carefully. "...Who are you?" she eventually asked when she didn't find anything familiar about the other, taking a cautious step back as she hugged herself with one arm.

"I'm Axel," the robe-wearing male replied easily. "I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora's. Why don't we go see him?" he suggested, holding a gloved hand out in an invitation.

"...Sora?" the Princess of Heart said with a spark of hope, the arm that had went up to hug herself lowering as she dropped her guard at the familiar name. Maybe the man really _did_ know Sora...the brunet male had travelled to so many worlds, after all...

A bark snapped Kairi back to reality, and a yellow-furred dog bounds up towards her, spinning in circles in front of her when he reached and wagged his tail. Bending down slightly, the redheaded girl smiled at the animal, noting that its nametag said 'Pluto'.

Axel frowned slightly at the interruption, knowing he was so close just a moment ago of acquiring the Princess. Snapping his fingers, he caused four Dusks to appear and surround the girl and the dog. "We've got something in common, Kairi," he said, trying to coax the teenager back on his side. "You and I both miss someone we care about. I feel like we're friends already."

"Friends?" Kairi repeated, almost laughing at the idea as she eyed the white monsters that Pluto was now growling at to keep them at bay. "Friends don't do this kind of thing!"

"This kind of thing?" Axel now echoed, looking confused before one of the Nobodies he summoned brushed up behind him, causing him to elbow it away. "Don't be afraid, they aren't bad guys," he explained with a chuckle, which slowly turned into a smirk. "It's just sometimes...they might _forget_ things."

_Like whose side they're on,_ the redheaded male finished in his head, though he didn't need to say it aloud for Kairi to understand for not a moment later one of the Nobodies in the circle surrounding her twitched, as if ready to launch forward and attack her.

However, it wasn't the shorter redhead that fell to the ground.

"Arf! Arf! Arf" Pluto barked, sitting on Axel's chest to keep the ex-XIII Order member down. The vicious barking slowly receded as the dog noticed he wasn't being thrown off violently, which gave him enough insight on Axel's character. Happily, Pluto switched motions, licking the male's face instead.

"Whoa!" Axel exclaimed, caught off guard by the shift in the dog's attitude towards him. "What's up with you?!" The redhead wasn't sure if it was strange to almost wish for the hostility the animal was showing him before, or that this was the most affection he had gotten since...well, since Roxas, really. It had been so long since he didn't feel hated or unwanted that he didn't know what to do with himself.

A whistle suddenly sounded, catching the attention of both humans and the one dog. Kairi let out a surprised noise when a dark portal open up not too far away from her, eyeing it with suspicious curiosity—it looked a lot like the gateway Axel had come out of earlier. Since she was waiting for someone to come out of it, the redheaded female was speechless as Pluto barked appreciatively in response to the whistle before rushing right into the gaping hole.

"Wait, do I go in there?" Kairi asked aloud, taking a few steps forward, though in hindsight she wasn't sure why—the dog was long gone, and it wasn't as if it could answer her even if it was still around.

Axel, who was shaking his head free of both sand and some of the disorientation he felt from being knocked to the ground earlier, quickly sat up as he saw the Princess edge closer towards the portal. Never mind the fact that he didn't know who opened it, something that was already ringing warning bells in his mind, without a black coat like his he wasn't sure how the Corridor of Darkness would affect her.

"Don't go!" he yelled. "I don't know what will happen there!"

A feeling of relief came over him as Kairi stopped and looked back at him, but dread settled in the pit of his stomach when the teenager merely stuck her tongue out at him. While anyone would've felt uneasy about a doorway of swirling darkness, between it and the man behind her, it actually seemed like the lesser of two evils. Besides, the dog didn't hesitate to enter it, and she trusted Pluto more than Axel.

"Wait for me, doggy!" Kairi called as she disappeared inside the portal, leaving Axel to gape after her as it closed. Any other time, the redheaded male might've chuckled at how his summoned Nobodies turned to look at him with their mouths opened dumbly, or yelled and banished them back where they came from as the Nobodies could've been laughing at him in their own way, but there was only one thought going through his mind at that moment.

'Ansem' was going to skin him alive.

xoxoxoxox

It was more...brighter than she expected. Of all the ideas that sprang to her head as she entered the black swirling mist, an endless path decorated with the same repeating symbol and no distinguishable marks to tell one place from another was not it. Kairi wrapped her arms around herself as if afraid she might touch something she shouldn't, and stayed close to Pluto, trying to take an example from the dog's calm demeanor and not freak out,

"What _is_ this place?" she breathed out in awe, unable to help herself despite the circumstances. Although she technically visited quite a few worlds several months ago, it wasn't like she was actually _awake_ to see any of them. On one hand it was exhilarating to be out on an adventure like what was meant to happen when they decided to build the raft ages ago, but on the other hand she felt connected to Sora and Riku, who were still on that adventure, fighting to protect each other and make it back home.

Maybe waiting truly wasn't good enough anymore.

_It's my turn to bring you two back home._

"But first...how to get out of here..." Kairi scanned around the area but couldn't tell if they were going the right way...if there even _was_ a right way.

And then she heard it. A whistle, a lot like the one she heard back on Destiny Islands when the portal opened up and brought her...wherever 'here' was. The Princess turned her head towards the sound, and sure enough, another portal was open ahead of her, a bright light shining through the hole it created in the otherwise symmetrical layout.

"An exit?" Kairi questioned aloud, and once again the dog dashed forward, seemingly answering her in his own way once again. She jogged after him, and as she was enveloped by the light, she felt someone watching her. Slowing down, the redheaded girl looked over her shoulder and saw a figure in a hooded black trench coat that covered the person right down to their shoes. They stood just outside the reach of the light, and Kairi could feel the person didn't mean her any harm—quite the opposite, actually, like they were looking out for her. It actually felt familiar, and by the time she gasped at the realization of _why_, the portal was already closing around her, blocking her person from view.

Before consciousness faded away completely, Kairi whispered a single word.

"Riku...?"

xoxoxoxox

It had been months and the Twilight Town trio weren't any closer to figuring out who the mysterious blonde male was in the photo or what exactly happened to them all those months ago. In fact, they were left with even more questions. They started with the only lead they had—Pence's research on the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town. Between school and family commitments, they looked into one, and Olette kept a record of everything they found or remembered in case another lapse in their memory happened once more.

The first was the Spooky Steps, and though they weren't aware of it, some things just never changed. They had each taken turns going down and back up the steps, counting each time they did, and when they compared their numbers in the end, only Hayner and Olette were confused by the results—after all, the whole Wonder was the fact that the number of steps changed going up and down. When Pence emitted a laugh and shook his head, he revealed to his friends that someone heard from Rai that the number was different.

_"So the numbskull just counted wrong?"_ Hayner had asked, his fingers curling into a fist that he had intended to punch Pence in the arm with for making them waste all that time.

The headband-wearing teenager noticed this, though, and already started running, managing to say, _"Hey, we had to make sure, didn't we? Besides, at least we got in some exercise!",_ in between laughs and looking over his shoulder to see how close the blonde male was to catching him.

_"I'll show you exercise!"_ the leader of the trio yelled as he missed grabbing Pence by an inch.

Olette could only giggle and shake her head as she recorded their findings of the first rumour.

The second Wonder they investigated was the Moans from the Tunnel, and it didn't have quite the humorous end as the first. It was still actually an open case. The boys were reluctant to check it out at first because it required going into the tunnels and they were afraid it might trigger another attack in Olette. To her credit, the lone girl put aside her own reservations about going underground in favour of something 'much more important', or so she put it, though she did have a death grip on the flashlight she had brought with her when they went.

To their surprise, it wasn't too long before they _did_ hear something that could be described as moans, and Pence gulped as Hayner took point, ready to attack the source of the sound if it turned out to be malicious—they still remembered those odd white creatures that appeared at the Station during Sora's visit.

It was somewhat anticlimactic when they turned the corner and didn't find anything or anyone, and as Hayner scratched the back of his head in disbelief, Pence looked up at the vent in the wall before them.

_"Hey guys, look! It seems like the sounds are coming from up there,"_ the dark-haired boy said as he pointed.

_"Is that...the wind?"_ Hayner asked, going on his tippy-toes as if it would make him hear better.

Pence sighed. _"I guess it's just another mistaken rumour."_

_"I don't think...that's the whole story,"_ Olette murmured, and the two boys turned to look at her, noticing a distant look in her eyes.

_"Olette?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

The girl closed her eyes and seemed to sleepwalk towards the wall, placing her hand on it and letting it drag across the brick as she took a few steps sideways. For a moment, the two boys thought their lone female friend didn't hear them, but then she spoke.

_"There was...someone here. They were injured, and their moans of pain caught my attention. They wouldn't leave..._couldn't_ leave...so I think I made up at rumour to scare everyone away, so they wouldn't bother the person as they healed. I think I lucked out when not only the person disappeared when someone came to investigate, but that the vent could be blamed for the noises, too."_

There was a long moment of silence in which the two boys stared blankly ahead before giving each other a look, and Pence swallowed, having a feeling that _he_ was the one who went to check the source of the moans all those months ago.

_"That person..." _Hayner started, taking a step towards the brunette girl, _"Was it him? The guy from the photo?"_

Olette shook her head, and when she opened her eyes again, they were a clear emerald. _"No. I think...it was a girl?"_

The fact that it ended in a question was troubling, and the dark-haired male frowned, figuring there was really only one explanation as to why Olette seemed so uncertain.

_"Tampered memories, huh?"_ Pence said, causing his two friends to look at him—Olette looking somber while Hayner was downright disgruntled.

_"Wait 'till I get my hands on whoever's messing with our minds like this!"_ the blonde stated, hitting the side of his fist against the wall, and the trio promptly left before Hayner's blood pressure could skyrocket further.

Several years of yearbooks and class photos later didn't yield any results on the person Olette had helped in the tunnel, either. With nowhere left to turn until the memory returned or the (possible) girl turned up for a surprise visit, the Wonder was left on the backburner.

xoxoxoxox

That morning they were at it again, the three of them finding themselves standing at the opening of a bricked-off alleyway in Sunset Terrace where it was said a multitude of balls were found as if thrown from the wall at the end. Indeed, there were quite a lot of balls lying there, and Olette bent down to pick one up and examined it as Hayner and Pence walked over to the wall to inspect it.

"How do we know a bunch of kids didn't just leave their toys behind?" Hayner asked as he knocked on the wall, unsurprised to find it as solid as a rock.

"Well, that's certainly the logical explanation," Olette said, bouncing the ball off one of the side walls lightly so it wasn't hard for her to catch it. The ball was real and sturdy, and if thrown hard enough it could definitely harm someone. "...What if it's something not so easily explained?" she questioned back, trying her hand at being the Devil's Advocate.

The leader grunted and crossed his arms, still uncomfortable with such things that were out of his control but unable to deny that it could happen considering everything. "Okay...so let's say someone _was_ throwing it. Who are they? How did they get it through the wall? What are they after? Was the blonde guy from the photo their target? If so, why are they still here? Are we next?"

Silence followed the tirade of questions, and Olette sighed, looking down at the ground. There were far too many questions and far too little answers. Why would anyone be interested in their little world, in the three of them, in _him_? There wasn't anything special about them...was there?

_Is it the bad guys who took away our memories, or is it them who wants us to get it back?_

Emerald eyes lifted to land on Pence, who was silent since they arrived but seemed to have a thoughtful look on his face. She tilted her head curiously, but decided out in the open wasn't the place to divulge everything. Maybe it wasn't 'safe' anymore, and the thought worried her. She couldn't deny they didn't have any more reason to be standing there, though, and she squeezed the ball in her hand, intending to keep it for 'evidence'. There was a lot more around that she didn't think one missing would be a problem if someone in the Town really did own them, though she was ready to return it if that was the case.

"C'mon guys, let's head back to the Usual Spot," Olette suggested, and the silence followed them all the way on the journey there.

As soon as they arrived they took up their regular seats, and the lone girl in the group got to work on updating the journal she kept of their findings. Pence was still deep in thought, and Hayner paced for what seemed like a millennium to him before he broke. He marched right up to the headband-wearing boy and put his hands on his hips.

"All right, spill it!" the blonde male said. "You've been suspiciously quiet this whole time. What are you thinking?"

Pence blinked in surprise from being called out, and he looked uncertain to share what he was thinking. "...It's going to sound a little out there," he confessed.

Olette, who was peeking at him from over the journal, lowered it down to her lap and gave a small smile. "Honestly, I think that's what we're going to need if we're going to continue researching this. And you're our expert on all things paranormal," she teased lightly.

It seemed to have the right affect, and Pence smiled lightly before he crossed his arms and leaned back on the crate he was sitting on. "I'm not sure on who and why, but the how I can explain...maybe. The person, the balls, came from another dimension...another world."

Hayner made a strangled sound and lowered his hands from his hips. "You mean like...aliens, or something?" he asked uncertainly, looking as if he wasn't sure if he should laugh or vomit in the corner.

"Not _that_ out there...or maybe. I mean, there were those odd white things before at the Station..." Pence looked thoughtful again before he shook his head, not wanting to go off topic. "I actually was thinking about it because of Sora. I'm pretty sure he's not from around here, and we never saw him again once he left. Where did he come from, and where did he go? The only thing I could think of was another world."

_"Hey...do you guys believe there are other worlds out there?"_

_"Other worlds? As in..._other_ worlds?"_

_"Scientists always claim there are, don't they? That 'we're not alone in this world.' But they're never able to prove it, and it's not as if it's possible to travel outside of this world, or for others to come in. I mean, we've been surrounded by the same people since forever. I'll believe it when I see it."_

"...It's a nice dream, isn't it?" Olette whispered as the brief glimpse of memory faded away, and she blinked when she realized her best friends were staring at her. She laughed, slightly embarrassed, and was surprised when she felt tears fall down her cheeks from the action. When did tears well up in her eyes? The lone female laughed again as she wiped them away, hoping to convince her friends that she was all right.

"I'm sorry, I'm fine, I just...remembered something. I think we had this conversation before, about 'other worlds'...Hayner's reaction isn't that much different, but I think _he_ would be happy to know that Pence is a little more forthcoming this time around."

She smiled reassuringly when Pence looked upset that he would've been opposed to the idea, especially if it wasn't supportive for a friend, and she clutched the journal tighter in a silent reminder to write down the memory when she got the chance. "So, how _is_ travel possible between worlds?"

Pence had to shake his hand and slap his cheeks lightly to get his head back on track. He could make it up to _him _when they found him. "The most obvious would be by some sort of ship...though I've never seen one of those. Sora left on that train, but as far as we all know the beach is as far as Twilight Town goes. There _is_ that Wonder about a train, so we'll have to look into that." The slightly chubby male crossed his arms as he searched his brain for more ways of transportation.

"As far as this whole thing with the wall and the balls go...the only thing I can think of is some kind of portal—"

Pence was cut off as there was a sudden flash of light from a part of the wall across from them, opening up some sort of gateway where a redheaded girl and a dog suddenly flew out of before closing up shortly after. The girl was unconscious, but the dog barked happily at them, running forward to greet them before returning to the girl and licking her face to try to wake her.

"So...something like that?" Hayner finally managed to say as the scene left them all speechless. The three of them shared a look before they hurried to their feet to surround the girl and help to get her conscious again.

"Hey!" Olette called gently, leaning forward and resting the palms of her hands on her knees.

The girl began to stir and they heard a groan, and Pence squatted down as Hayner took a step forward. "Are you okay?" the leader asked as the girl pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"...What?" the redheaded girl breathed out, grabbing the side of her head before looking up at the three teens before her. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything the dog nuzzled her and resumed licking her face. The female smiled, petting the dog as she returned her gaze to the others in the room. "Where am I?"

"Twilight Town!" Pence answered, looking excited that what he and his friends were just discussing came to life right before their eyes. "You and that dog came flying out of a hole in the wall! You nearly gave us heart attacks! Did...did you come from another planet? Maybe you're from a different dimension? Ah! Can you understand us?"

Olette laughed and pulled Pence up into a standing position, hoping to rein her friend back in from treating the poor girl as some sort of science experiment and bombarding her with questions when it seemed like she might've been overwhelmed by the whole situation. "I'm Olette," she introduced herself before turning towards Pence, hoping he had calmed down a little.

The dark-haired boy was waving excitedly at the redheaded girl with both hands, having seemed to have turned his verbal energy into something physical. "I'm Pence! And this is..."

Three heads turned to look at the blonde-haired individual, who was giggling off to the side because the dog had decided to move its licking affections to him when he had bent down to pet its head. "H-Hayner," the trio leader finished Pence's sentence as he sensed all eyes were on him to respond. "Uwah, stop, that tickles!" Hayner addressed the dog, the hands that wrapped around the dog meant to push it away but only seemed to pull the dog closer to him.

His friends and the new girl laughed at the scene. "That's Pluto," she said, motioning to the dog, "And my name is Kairi." There was a pause as she looked down, thinking of her next words before she added, "I'm looking for my friends."

xoxoxoxox

There was a sort of an intermission, where Olette helped Kairi to her feet and invited her to sit on the couch beside her, and the boys ran off to grab some food and drinks. They could tell the new girl wanted to tell them her story, for both of their benefits, but they also knew she probably needed some time to gather her thoughts and emotions together. Full and refreshed, they all settled in their seats and turned to face the redhead—even Pluto rested his head on his front paws as he lounged on the floor in the middle.

"We used to be together, just the three of us, together chatting," Kairi began, clasping her hands together in her lap. "Riku, Sora and me. We thought of exploring the other side of world. We even made a wooden raft, and prepared what we needed—food, blankets. Now that I think of it, we were really childish..." she trailed off, eyes downcast and a nostalgic smile on her face.

"That's amazing!" Olette exclaimed, raising her fingers to her lips in awe. "The only places we go can are limited by where the tram runs."

"We do have a beach, though!" Hayner said, looking excited. "We could always try it out if we have free time," he joked, the Twilight Town gang laughing before it faded away as they thought of their fourth person.

_Together..._ Olette thought wistfully, moving her hand from her mouth to run through the ends of her brown hair.

Sensing the change in mood, Pence cleared his throat and tried to steer back to Kairi's story. "So, up 'till now, Sora left the Islands and went to find Riku?"

The redheaded girl nodded, and she laughed nervously, trying not to think of the worst scenario. "I'm sure he must've hit a detour somewhere...and now I'm looking for Sora while he's searching for Riku. If I find Riku first we could go after Sora together." _And I hope I didn't just miss my chance back there..._ she thought, remembering the cloaked individual she saw before the portal closed.

"I see," Hayner nodded before his brows furrowed in thought. "Wait a minute. It can't be the same guy...could it?"

Kairi tilted her head, confused, though Pence snapped his fingers together, able to follow his leader's train of thought. "We met a Sora during summer vacation a while back."

"Ah, it's got to be the same person! I mean, that's not a common name or anything, right?" Olette said, sounding positive.

"Huh? Really?" Kairi asked, looking at her newfound friends and feeling hope swell inside.

"Yeah! He said he would come back!" Hayner said.

Pence rubbed the bottom of his chin as he thought back to their goodbyes with Sora on the train platform. "We didn't ask him when he'd return, though...But if you wait here, I'm sure he'll come."

"About that..." Olette piped up, finding it a perfect segue, "You haven't exactly decided what you're gonna do next, right? For the time being, come stay at my place. In that period, you can prepare yourself for your longer journey ahead."

Kairi turned to face the fellow female more, her face lighting and warming up at the other's kindness. "Can I?"

"A journey, of course!" Pence said, clapping his hands together in anticipation. "Whether you head out on your own or leave with Sora, you're gonna need something! I can lend you my camping equipment!"

The redhead turned her head towards the headband-wearing boy, feeling her eyes begin to water. "Thank you!"

Not wanting to be outdone, Hayner jumped to his feet, but froze when all eyes turned to him, unable to think of anything. "I'll...uhh...mmm...Lend you all my comic books!" he ended up blurting out, and no one was sure what to say to that. "It's really interesting, y'know!" he added, looking both embarrassed and disgruntled that his offer wasn't met with the same enthusiasm.

The whole room was filled with laughter then, and Kairi looked fondly at her new friends before leaning back on the couch and looking up through the rafters, pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous sunset colours in the sky and the view of the train tracks she saw.

_I'm coming to see you, Sora...!_

xoxoxoxox

"Are you sure it's all right?" Kairi asked as she, Pluto and Olette stood on the doorstep of the brunette's house. With the promise of meeting up, as they always did, the next day to make more plans to help the redheaded girl, they all went their separate ways home for the night.

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't," Olette assured the other female as she unlocked the door and ushered Kairi inside. "My parents are pretty easy-going, and I'm sure they'll be thrilled to know I have a friend who isn't male," she joked, laughing.

Kairi couldn't help but join in. "Between Riku and Sora, I can totally relate."

Olette smiled, and after giving a tour of the first floor, showed the way upstairs. "We could even say your house is being fumigated or something," she started as her foot hit the top landing. "That should give us like a week. Hayner and Pence aren't bad guys, so you could stay with them for a bit, and we could try camping out on Sunset Hill. It'll be a nice test run."

Once they reached Olette's room, Kairi grabbed the other's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you again, really. This means so much to me."

The brunette girl didn't say anything, but she squeezed the hand that held hers before fluttering around preparing clothes so the other could shower or change and pulling out the foam mattress to sleep on, since as the good host she was giving up her bed to Kairi. By the time to two of them were in the same room again they were settling into their beds to go to sleep.

"You guys have the longest sunset I've ever seen," Kairi commented dreamily as she stared out the window.

"Sunset?" Olette asked, looking utterly confused.

"Yeah..." the foreigner said, pointing a hesitant finger to the window. Was it called something else in that world? They hadn't hit any language snag until then. "Y'know, that thing that comes before nightfall."

Brunette locks fell over the other's shoulder as the girl tilted her head in thought before shaking her head. "It never gets dark unless you go underground...or into the Woods or something. The sky's always been like that since I was born."

Sapphire eyes gazed into emerald ones as Kairi's mouth dropped in surprise. "No way! That's amazing. Back on Destiny Islands the sun rises and sets, and at night you can see the stars."

Olette closed her eyes trying to imagine it. "It sounds beautiful. I wish I could see it... Ah!" She jumped to her feet and approached the window to close the blinds. "It'll probably take a while for you to get used to it, so I'll close them at night for you."

"Thank you," Kairi repeated for the nth time that day, and slightly frowned when the other girl stayed facing the window and didn't return to her bed. "Olette?"

Said girl laughed nervously and slowly turned to face the redheaded individual. "I just...your story really inspired me, Kairi," Olette started, worried about how the other might react to her own tale but knew it took a lot for the other to talk about her own—she wanted to draw from that power.

"The boys and I...there's someone we're searching for, too." Crossing the room to her dresser, Olette picked up the journal, flipping to the first page where she had placed the photo that started it all. Unconsciously, she thumbed it lightly before she sat down beside Kairi and handed the book over to her.

Sapphire eyes widened when she looked at the photo—the male reminded her a lot of Sora. She knew in her heart it was someone else, though, and she could almost tell how relieved Olette was that she didn't say anything about it. "...What happened?" the redheaded girl asked gently, silently questioning with her eyes if it was okay to look through the rest of the journal, which the fellow female nodded her consent. The countless notes she found on the following pages almost made her blood go cold.

_'I overheard 'him' asking Hayner and Pence about girls being complicated, and I know I pretended like I didn't hear a thing to hear the boys' response, but after hearing an affirmative and then examples using _me_ I had to intervene before they gave 'him' the wrong advice! And they had the gull to point out that that was a prime example...!'_

It was written as if... _Their memories..._ Kairi realized.

"That's where everything goes crazy—we don't have a clue. Until a few months ago, we didn't even know he _existed_. There are times when flashes of memory come back to us, and I can _hear_ his voice and I know he's real, but—"

Olette's voice cut off by itself, strained by the heavy emotion it carried, and disheartened eyes looked down at Pluto, who put his head on her lap to try and cheer her up. "I don't even remember his _name_," she confessed, feeling disgusted with herself.

"Olette..." Kairi whispered, and she scooted closer to wrap a comforting arm around the brunette girl. "...I didn't mention this earlier, but there was a time when I didn't remember Sora. His voice that was always with me disappeared and I couldn't think of his face, or his name. I felt _awful_ about it."

She smiled sadly when Olette finally looked up at her, and she squeezed the shoulder she held in a one-armed hug. "I even wrote a letter to him, when I didn't remember who he was. I wrote that no matter where he was...I'd find him. So just...hold on to what you do remember and keep going forward. You'll remember when the time's right, and you'll have all the time in the world to make up for everything when you're together again."

"Kairi..." Olette was speechless for a few moments before she hugged the other girl with both arms. "Thank you."

The redhead female returned the embrace. "I know it's not the greatest advice..." she said, laughing shakily.

"No... I was trying so hard to be strong in front of Hayner and Pence, and I was really just freaking out inside. I needed to hear that. Thank you," Olette repeated.

"I'll try to help in any way I can," Kairi offered, and after another hug the two separated to finally get some shut eye.

Although they were both thinking it, neither mentioned how odd it was for them to have both lost their memories regarding two boys who looked so similar physically.

It was just a coincidence...right?

xoxoxoxox

"You see, this is waterproof fabric!" Pence explained to Kairi as he held up a large piece of cloth.

It was the next day, and the last for the weekend before the three Twilight Town teens had to go back to school. They met once more in the Usual Spot, where Pence had brought a huge box full of stuff he planned to lend to their foreign friend.

"It's thin, light, and you can use it as a sleeping bag, too!" he continued as the redheaded female reached out to feel the material. "As long as you have this, you can rest easy in the fields!"

"The way he sells it makes _me_ want to have one," Hayner muttered as he rubbed the bottom of his chin in thought.

"What is this, the Shopping Channel?" Olette teased the blonde male.

"If you have no munny, you can't stay at an inn!" the dark-haired teen pointed out, which the others agreed was a good point.

"But in the time you're getting ready for your journey, don't you think it's better to get a job and actually _earn_ munny?" the brunette girl suggested.

There was no denying that, either.

"There _are_ a few people who are looking to hire," Pence said.

Eager to head outdoors and walk around, Hayner jumped on the bandwagon. "Let's go have a look, then!"

It turned out job hunting doubled as a tour, as the Twilight Town natives took every opportunity to point out everything about their world that they found important—which was basically everything under the sky. Kairi didn't mind though, and she thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights and meeting the townspeople. If adventuring was anything like what she was experiencing right then, it might not be so bad.

Before they knew it, the four teens stepped onto the Sandlot, too caught up explaining how it was the site of their annual Struggle tournament to remember it was also the unofficial headquarters of a certain Committee.

"Oh, you've brought a stranger here," a voice called out to them, and they turned to see Seifer sitting on one of the benches on the far side of the lot. Rai was standing behind him, giving the beanie-wearing male's shoulders a massage as Fuu approached her friends carrying a box of candy.

"What's up?" he greeted, when the others remained silent, though it was more directed to Olette than the other two, especially considering how tense Pence got and how Hayner practically shook with his contained rage. Taking a lollipop from the box Fuu held out, he used it to point to the redheaded female. "Is that girl a transfer student?"

Grabbing Hayner's wrist to both calm him down and rein him in, Olette shared a look with her leader before looking at the leader of their supposed enemy. "...Something like that," she answered diplomatically, knowing the other blonde's distaste for foreign people in his world. Seifer had a bad way of showing it most of the time, but it was actually rather protective of him.

"Seifer, this is Kairi," the brunette girl introduced, holding out her free hand to gesture between the two. "Kairi, this is Seifer, leader of Twilight Town's Disciplinary Committee." She, of course, didn't point out the bad blood between the two groups, but the foreigner could tell just from Hayner's and Pence's reactions that there was probably some bad blood between them.

Not wanting to be the cause of more trouble, Kairi stepped forward slightly and bowed. "Hi, I'm looking for my friends," she said as politely as she could, hoping that if she stated her business for being in their world that Seifer might not be as hostile. "Please be kind to me, Seifer."

Said teen looked speechless for a second—even Rai had stopped his motions and Fuu...well, Seifer could tell she was pretty shocked by how kind the other girl was being. Crossing his arms, the blonde male got to his feet and mumbled, "What kind of friends?"

"Eh?" Kairi responded less intelligently as she straightened from her bow, taken aback by the question.

"If I saw them around, I could tell you," Seifer repeated more clearly, though he look irritated that he had to say that much.

Hayner opened his mouth then, ready to say, 'The one who kicked your butt at the End-of-Summer Fair,' but Olette slapped her hand over his lips so it only came out as a muffled mess. Both he and Pence gave her incredulous looks, but as soon as she said, "This is for Kairi," they relented—though they didn't look very happy about it.

In the end, Kairi explained Riku and Sora to Seifer, who said he might keep a look out and possibly spread the word if he was in the mood for it. Hayner managed to mutter, "Which is never," before Olette could stop him and the girls decided it was best to clear out before a total meltdown occurred.

They managed to fit in one odd job that required clearing the junk from the back of shop before the Town natives realized they didn't finish their homework, and while they scrambled to do that and Kairi did her best to help, she realized that maybe there _was_ something that she wouldn't miss that much about being away from home.

xoxoxoxox

"Found you."

Axel didn't expect it to take him as long as it did to track down the runaway Princess, even if it was just the second day. He had skipped out, of course, on the meet up he was supposed to have with 'Ansem' since he was a party member short, and managed to avoid meeting the other in the Corridor of Darkness as he searched worlds looking for the trouble-making redhead.

In fact, the fact that he even caught sight of her in Twilight Town was unexpected, as he was only there for a break from the search and unofficial check in to Roxas' other friends, the latter of which he would've denied if asked. The redheaded male was just about to step out from the opening he had made when he saw Kairi step out from a shop carrying a box, followed by that blasted dog. Although it was only a second that he hesitated from shock in reaching out and pulling the girl in, it was all the time he needed to catch sight of _her_ and her two male friends as they came out of the same store, also carrying containers.

And he found himself hesitating for another reason entirely.

A part of him wondered why he was surprised that Kairi would be in _that_ world with _those_ kids—it honestly should've been the first place he searched. After all, wasn't it natural for those two girls to gravitate towards one another? Their destinies were certainly intertwined now.

It made him rethink everything. Maybe there was a reason it turned out that way. What if the universe was telling him that he was chasing after the wrong girl—that history had to be repeated? Axel watched as the trio went to school, watched as his countless opportunities to snatch the Princess as she was left alone in the Usual Spot slip by as the Twilight Town natives returned once school was out, watched how easy it would be for him to capture _her_ while she slept.

Before he knew it, a week had gone by, and any longer than that and even he couldn't talk his way through the whole 'sight-seeing' excuse he planned on feeding 'Ansem' and Naminé.

It was time he made his move.

xoxoxoxox

"Let's start our welcome party!" Hayner yelled as he held up his sea salt popsicle in the air, accompanied by cheers from Pence, Olette and Kairi as they, too, raised their iced treats.

"Sorry it's a week late," Olette apologized, clasping her hands around the stick of her popsicle as she bowed her head.

"And that we have walls to paint after this," Pence added, chuckling.

"It's all right, guys!" Kairi assured them before taking a lick of her treat. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me!"

Suddenly, slow clapping filled the Usual Spot, and all eyes turned towards the wall across from them as a black portal opened up and dark wisps seemed to crawl out from the edges, revealing a tall redheaded-male donning a long black trench coat. He lowered the hands he had clapped with, though a fake smile remained plastered on his face.

"Wh-what is this?" Hayner stuttered as he and Pence jumped to their feet, readying to protect the girls if they had to.

The man ignored them, though, and kept his eyes trained on the two girls who remained seated on the couch. "I tell ya, Kairi, you've got a lot of _guts_, jumping _right_ into the darkness like that."

"Why...why did you come?!" the redheaded female asked him bitterly, clenching her free hand into a fist in an attempt to hide her fear.

Instead of responding, the older male began slowly walking forward towards them.

"Hey, what do you want?" Hayner demanded angrily, dropping his popsicle and rushing the guy with a fist, only to find himself going right through him.

Surprised but ready to back his leader up, Pence also abandoned his treat and ran forward with a less steady fist, but an attack all the same, only to phase through the guy and end up in a heap beside Hayner.

Olette's popsicle had long since slipped through her fingers and into the floor, but she wasn't aware of it. Ever since she laid eyes on the redheaded male her body had gone numb and her heart raced so fast she was afraid it would give out. Her body wanted to move, to run, for an entirely different reason than the warning bells her brain was frantically sending.

For a reason she couldn't remember.

Before she realized it, he was in front of them, a gloved hand reaching out, hovering over her wrist, and for one long second that seemed like eternity two sets of emerald eyes locked together.

And they both knew it was _her_ he wanted to take a hold of.

But then he averted his eyes, and the moment passed, and it was Kairi he was dragging back toward the open portal.

"Let go of me! _Let go_!" Kairi cried as she tried to pull her wrist free from the man's grasp.

Pulled back to the present by her friend's cry, Olette let out a sharp breath she didn't know she was holding before she willed her body to move. Running for the baseball bat littered with rusty nails that was leaning on a crate a few steps away, one of the many assorted items the Gang never cleaned out from the Spot, the brunette girl cut off the man near the portal, almost blocking the path.

"Let go of Kairi," she hissed through teeth clenched in fear, holding the bat out in front of her.

The man stared at her silently, as if mulling something through his mind, before he said, "No unnecessary resistance would be better for you."

_Don't make me change my mind_, in other words.

The bat wavered now as Olette's hand began to shake, though she managed to allow it to follow the older male as he continued forward.

"Olette!" Kairi called as they reached the portal, wanting to tell the other female not to fight but already feeling the gateway suck her in.

"W-w-wait!" No matter what, she wasn't going to let someone else be kidnapped in her place. The brunette girl stepped into the outer portion of the portal, reaching in hoping to grab hold on Kairi but found that the darkness had a hold of her instead. It swirled around her, inching up her body almost sensually, as if it wasn't going to let her get away this time—

"Tch," the man muttered, unsure of whether to be amazed or annoyed by Olette's determination, and he used his power to push her out of the portal and away from the prying hold of the darkness.

"Ah!" Olette cried as she hit the floor, and she curled away from the gateway, shaking hard like a leaf. "What is this...?" she breathed out as she watched the darkness blindly reach out as if looking for her. Behind her Hayner was clutching his right knee as Pence held onto his head with both hands, looking as if it was about to explode.

Pluto suddenly bounded down the room, barking angrily, and dashed right into the diminishing portal before it disappeared completely.

Not a moment later, the nothingness of unconsciousness claimed the three of them.

xoxoxoxox

_"–—–'s late as usual,"_ Hayner sighed as he paced around the Usual Spot.

_"But _this_ is too much, even for him,"_ Pence pointed out with an uneasy laugh as his gaze fell upon the troubled lone female of the group as she sat upon the large couch.

_"Can we look for him now, please?"_ Olette all but begged, speaking against her clasped hands that she held up to her lips as if praying for her friend's safe return. Maybe he forgot to set his alarm and was still snoring away in his bed—that's what she hoped from the deepest reaches of her heart, because thinking of the alternative that was trying to claw its way into her mind was slowly driving her insane.

_After all, it was a tough night for him yesterday..._ the brunette girl recalled—she could still feel his tears on her shoulder.

The leader rubbed a hand down his face as he stopped walking before he ran a hole through the ground. He honestly didn't want them splitting up any further—what if they found him as soon as they did? _Or what if another one of us goes missing?_ But even he couldn't deny that if he couldn't let another minute go by without doing _something_.

_"Okay...okay, how about this,"_ Hayner conceded as he gestured his two friends to gather around. _"We'll search the main island and meet up at the center of Tram Common in an hour. If we don't find him by then we'll head over to Sunset Terrace together, all right?"_

Two heads nodded in agreement to the plan and waved goodbye to each other outside of the Usual Spot before going their separate ways.

Olette made a habit of checking every nook and cranny of every alley she passed by, just in case. She had lost track of time, and had long since stopped counting how many pathways she checked, but as she headed back to the open end of the current alleyway she walked to the end of, she saw him.

Elated, relieved, and a multitude of other emotions welled up inside of her, and the brunette girl couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she lifted a hand and waved it to get his attention.

"–—–_!" _the brunette girl yelled, trying to get his attention as she began jogging down the passage, unable to run at full speed because of some of the abandoned crates and assorted other garbage that lined it. When the blonde teen didn't even bat an eyelash Olette figured he didn't hear him, but just as she opened her mouth to call his name again she saw her—the other person he was with.

The girl who held onto his arm tightly, giggling at whatever her friend had said as they continued right past the alley she was in. She didn't miss the genuine smile that graced his lips before she lost sight of them completely.

Olette slowed to a stop and lowered her hand, letting it hang limply at her side. Was that...Luna, from school? She didn't even know they knew each other. _I didn't know they were—_

_"I didn't know he had a girlfriend. I guess you really _do_ learn something every day."_

Gasping, Olette turned to see where the voice came from that spoke almost exactly what she was thinking, and found a tall redheaded male standing a few feet behind her, his hands in the pockets of his long black trench coat. _Where did he come from? Who is he? He wasn't there before..._

_"Axel,"_ the man self-introduced himself when he saw the girl was staring at him with more curiosity than suspicion than he expected. Was it because the goodness of her heart or ignorance, he wasn't sure, but the 'Heartless' in him was tempted to find out—though maybe that was the stress from the downhill spiral his life was taking doing the talking. _"Got it memorized?"_

Olette smiled politely, her manners running on auto-pilot as she replied, _"O-Olette. Do...do you know him?"_ she asked tentatively, remembering the other's earlier comment. If the older male was a friend of –—–, then she wouldn't have to feel so awkward.

Something akin to pain flashed through the Axel's emerald eyes before they turned emotionless. _"Who really knows anyone?"_ he answered with a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. _"But isn't that a kicker. Here you were, searching all this time for him, and he didn't have the decency to tell you he's ditching you to make kissy faces with some girl?"_

Something jolted through Olette, and she felt her breath catch in her throat the longer she stared into the other's eyes—something about them suddenly felt invasive. The eyes were the window to one's soul, after all, and coupled with the words the redhead spoke to her, it was like he was diving deep within her in an attempt to awaken something that was dormant.

_How did he even know I was looking for –—–__..._ Planted to her spot, unable to move even if she could gather the willpower to do so, Olette could feel herself begin to shake as Axel began to leisurely stroll towards her like he was floating through air—all throughout her body a numbness was growing. _What's going on? What is he doing to me? _

_"What about how _you_ feel?"_ Axel continued as if unperturbed or unsurprised by the sudden change in the girl. Darkness was beginning to fill her senses, the mysterious man's words grasping for her heart. Her eyes glazed over—seeing, yet not seeing. _"You must be a _little_ angry about it, right? Don't feel bad to admit it. I would be, too."_

Crying out, Olette fell to her knees as Axel stopped before her, her left hand propping her body up as she clutched at her heart with her right hand. _Yeah_...all she had to do was be angry at –—–, let it grow into hatred and surrender her heart to the endless darkness. It was all his fault that she was going through this pain while he was having fun with a girl he never bothered to mention to any of them!

...But then his smiling image appeared in her mind and a blinding light overtook her, banishing the invading darkness. The brunette girl coughed as she caught her breath, fingers curling upon the cobble stone, and as she closed her eyes she missed the utter shock that was plastered on Axel's face as he stared down at her.

_Her heart...is strong,_ was the thought that ran through his mind. _Much stronger than I thought...or ever seen._

When she opened her eyes again, they were back to normal, and the man steeled himself once more. _"No..."_ Olette whispered, coughing a bit more before she repeated the word, stronger this time. _"No."_ Slowly but surely, she sat up straighter and raised her head to look at the redhead straight in the eye, emerald orbs clashing together.

_"I'm not mad at him. I have no right to be." Since I never told him I may...that I... "I admit that I'm a little upset that he didn't tell me...tell _all_ of us, that he had..._someone_,"_ because really, weren't they jumping the gun there? _Or is that a hope that just won't die?_ _"...But I'm not angry at him. It hurts, but at the same time, I'm happy for him. It's nice to see him smile again..."_

Olette smiled at the thought before she covered her mouth with both hands and blushed a deep red. What did she just confess to a man she just met and had tried to do..._something_ to her?

A soft chuckle broke her out of her thoughts, and she leaned back instinctively as Axel squatted down in front of her, leaning an elbow on one bended knee and resting his chin on that hand, regarding her with something close to mirth in his eyes. _"–—– sure knows how to pick 'em,"_ he said with another laugh, shaking his head. _"I'm sorry. I wish we all met under different circumstances but...I have to do this. Sleep,"_ he commanded as he lifted the hand he was resting on and held it out in front of her face. _"It'll all be over when you awake."_

Olette opened her mouth, whether to scream or ask him, 'Why,' Axel wasn't sure, as her eyes slid close and she began to fall forward into him. Summoning a trench coat much like his own, the redheaded male was unexpectedly gentle as he eased the sleeping girl into it, even lifting the hood, and with an arm supporting her head and another behind her knees, the eighth member of the Order cradled the girl to him as he stood to his feet.

The next moment, he opened a portal, and the he disappeared with his charge inside the waiting darkness.

xoxoxoxox

This is exactly what he was afraid of having happen when the thought of splitting up came to mind. Hayner tapped a foot in nervous impatience as he scanned one half of the Tram Common as Pence looked at the other side. One hour passed and only one of his quartet of friends showed up at the appointed meeting spot. –—– was one thing—if worst came to worst he was sure he could handle himself to a degree. _But Olette... _The dark-haired male suddenly grabbed his arm and Hayner was one second away from blowing his top.

_"If your idea is to split up _again_, Pence, I will—" _

_"Isn't that –—–?"_ Pence interrupted, pointing with his free hand to the diner on the far side from where they were standing.

Chocolate brown eyes squinted across the distance and then widened when he realized his friend was right. _"Well I'll be damned! But...was he here the whole time? What in the name of sea salt ice cream is he doing?"_

_"Let's go peek!"_ Pence suggested, excited to do some 'super sleuthing', and he scampered across the Common before the taller made could say anything in response. Said boy could only roll his eyes and hurry after him. They crouched beneath the large main window of the eating establishment before slowly poking their heads up to look inside.

_"How can he eat at a time like this!"_ the headband-wearing male exclaimed, adding, _"Without us!"_

_"Hey, he's with someone! Is that...oh my god, it's a girl!"_ Hayner whispered loudly.

_"You act as if Olette isn't one,"_ Pence teased, always amused by his leader's reactions to the opposite sex.

_"She's...she's...different,"_ the blonde male mumbled before inhaling loudly. _"Crap, he saw us!"_

Needlessly, they ducked out of sight, and moments later heard a loud crash from inside, prompting them both to the feet to see what happened. There was a huge mess on the floor, and a commotion seemed to be brewing between –—– and the waiter. Hayner was about to suggest they go inside when he caught sight of a certain someone from the corner of his eye.

_"Pence, you go inside and help –—–. I have things to handle out here."_

Noticing the strain in Hayner's voice, Pence turned his head to look at him and froze when his eyes landed on Seifer and his gang. Swallowing audibly, Pence gave the other male a pat on the back in a silent, 'Good luck.' _"We'll be out to help in a jiffy!"_ he said before hurrying inside.

With that done, Hayner walked forward as he realized his arch nemesis was planning on heading into the same diner to eat and cut him off before the other blonde could get anywhere near the door. _"Diner's closed,"_ he said with a sneer as the taller blonde locked gazes with him.

_"Lies!"_ Fuu said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

_"Costing a business some money is a crime, lamer,"_ Seifer scowled back, eager to have just cause to punish his former friend.

_"You'll have to go through me to get in!"_

The beanie-wearing teen barked with laughter at the invitation. _"With pleasure!"_ He took a step forward, but Rai, apparently eager to do or prove something, got to Hayner first. The tanned male grabbed a fistful of the other's vest and pulled his other arm back, ready to punch, but was caught off-guard when something pushed him away, and all eyes turned to look at the interruption.

_"What, so you thought you could mess with Hayner simply because I wasn't around? You had the nerve to try and lay a finger on my best friend?"_

_"–—–!_" Hayner exclaimed, standing up from the fighting stance he was in to stare at –—–'s back in utter surprise in awe. He turned back to the diner when the doors were open again, though more softly than when –—– plowed through them, and Pence walked out and came up to stand by his side. _"Pence!"_ Grinning widely now, he looked back at Seifer and his gang, feeling stronger now that his friends were by his side. _"Now all we need to do is find Olette,"_ Hayner said, though to no one in particular—he was just happy.

Although Hayner didn't want to have to do it again, they didn't have much of a choice with the Disciplinary Committee in the picture. As much as he would've loved to have a throw down against them, he had much bigger fish to fry and they all couldn't spend it wasting time dealing with the nitwits. At least one of them had to break away and search for Olette. The lighter blonde male relayed his plan to his two friends, and he wasn't surprised when –—– took the lead in dealing with Seifer.

_It even seems like he thinks Seifer had something to do with Olette's disappearance..._

Suddenly, something caught his attention, and both he and Pence snapped their heads up to the sky, where they eyes met with a singular white...thing—monster was the only word that came to mind. It looked like it had something in its mouth, but it was hard to tell from the altitude.

The only thing Hayner _was_ sure of was that the monster was falling fast...and headed straight for –—–. Time seemed to freeze for a moment before it sped up. Hayner rushed forward, making his way towards his best friend, who was too caught up with Seifer to notice that something was free-falling straight towards him. Jumping off his right foot, he held out his hands to push –—– out of the way—and if the feeling of sharpened claws slashing across his back was any indication, he made it just in time. A second later and the creature would've made contact with –—– for sure.

_"Hayner!"_ Pence yelled as he watched his friend roll to a stop and then cease all movement. His breath caught in his throat as the sight of something crimson began to colour the wound on Hayner's back—_blood_. There was no way that _thing_ was on Seifer's side...was there? It didn't seem to be the case, as said boy and his gang looked as spooked about the sudden appearance of the monster as they were.

Knowing his leader needed medical attention immediately, the dark-haired male made a slight movement towards his friend but froze as the monster twitched in his direction. Pence stopped breathing for a second, but he knew he couldn't stand by forever—Hayner would never make it that long. Swallowing quietly, he began to try to circle around the creature, though he could tell the thing was watching him even though he now realized it didn't have any eyes.

_"Hayner!"_ Pence yelled again, trying to keep the other conscious, and he thought for a moment before adding, _" –—–!"_ as he hadn't heard from his other blonde friend in quite some time. _"Are you guys okay?"_ he asked before his mouth dropped open, chestnut brown eyes finally falling upon the item that was held between the monster's teeth.

_"Pe-Pence...?"_ –—– shakily called out, and when he had heard no answer he pulled his gaze from Hayner onto Pence, who looked as if he had been turned to stone. Wondering what more could have gone wrong, –—– followed his friend's gaze and soon found himself petrified as well.

The twilight rays hit the turquoise beaded bracelet just right, causing it to glow rather beautifully as it was held in the mouth of lone Nobody. It suddenly released its hold on the piece of jewelry, and the bracelet made a clanging sound as it met with the stone ground below. The noise seemed to echo repeatedly in his ears as he lowered his head, it ringing with the terrible thought of knowing what had happened to Olette.

_"–—–!"_ Pence yelled out desperately, holding out a hand towards –—– despite being way too far away to be able to reach him.

By then, –—– was already aware that the Nobody was advancing towards him. But it didn't matter—he was more than ready for it. The beating of his heart now pounded within the confines of his mind. Lifting his head up, the look on –—–'s face was beyond description—it was a fusion of melancholy and vengeance, among many other emotions.

–—–let out a battle cry and the onlookers watching covered their eyes as a flash of light blinded them. When they returned their gaze to the scene, they saw two large key-shaped weapons in the hands of the blonde teen—one the purest of blacks and the other the purest of whites. If any of them blinked, they would've missed it, as in one moment the monster was there and the next it had disappeared.

Dismissing the Oathkeeper and Oblivion, –—– bent down and retrieved Olette's bracelet, curling his fingers around the item tightly as his whole body shook. _"Pence, take Hayner to the hospital."_

And with that, he, too, disappeared into a portal of darkness.

xoxoxoxox

It didn't take him long to find Axel. With all his emotions fueling him and tunnel vision for one person and one person only, he couldn't propel himself out of the Corridor of Darkness fast enough when he found the abandoned room in Twilight Town where his former partner was keeping Olette. The other jumped at his sudden appearance and stood to face him, trying to block the girl from sight, but he wasn't looking at Axel's face. He couldn't bear to, not after what the other had done, and his sapphire gaze was too busy staring at the brown hair that he _could_ see fanning out from the figure lying on the floor behind the redheaded male.

But what he could see from the corner of his eye of the other's expression showed that Axel wasn't too pleased of what he had done, either, if the thin line of his mouth was anything to go by. No amount of Axel's regret could appease the outrage that was building inside of him, though.

_"You came,"_ the Flurry of Dancing Flames whispered, though he scratched the back of his head as he laughed uneasily. _"Of course you did. I know how much Olette means to you."_

He jerked violently at the sound of _her_ name coming out of Axel's lips, clenching the bracelet so tightly in his hand that his fingernails created crescents in his palm. He didn't need to ask _why_ the redhead did what he did—he knew all too well the reason behind it all, and it sickened him. He had taken too long to end things, and _she_ was dragged into the crossfire, now a target on the Order's radar.

_"Let her go,"_ was all he said instead.

_"Come back, –—–, and we'll set her free!"_ Axel tried to bargain, taking a step forward and holding out his hand. _"The Superior will never know she exists, she'll be safe—" _He cut himself off as he found himself staring down at the Keyblade pointed at his throat.

_"She stopped being safe the moment I met her,"_ he bit out, sapphire eyes shining from the unshed tears that welled up in his eyes. It hurt to admit, to know that he was selfish...to think that _he_, as a Nobody, was worth it. If he was, he'd never be able to find out now. _"I asked once nicely, Axel. I won't do it again."_

A gargle of surprise was all the Order member was able to get out before the Key of Destiny came at him and the other crumpled to the ground without so much as a fight. Empty eyes stared down at his former friend before he dismissed the Keyblade and sprinted towards where Olette lay, gathering her up in his arms with all the tenderness he could muster.

He brushed the hair out of her eyes and felt his heart clench when she didn't stir at all. Gingerly, he placed the jade bracelet on the correct wrist it called home before lifting Olette, slightly appeased that he could at least feel warmth from her body where it touched his.

Not willing to risk a trip through the portal, he made his way to the hospital on foot, staying close by her side as the professionals took her from his arms and wheeled her away for tests he was sure wouldn't reveal the cause of her comatose state. He waited through all of it, slipping into her room when they were finally done.

For a long while, he stood there, silent—what could one say to someone in their final goodbye? Eventually he moved, dipping his hand into his pocket, fingers wrapping around something inside. Grasping a limp hand with his free one, he told her with his heart everything his mouth couldn't, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't stay with her until she awoke.

Pulling the seashell from his pocket, he placed it by Olette's pillow softly and backed away, disappearing for the last time.

* * *

**author' s notes:** Please do take note of how much time has elapsed from the previous chapter and this one. Since a year happened between the start of the game and the final credits, I have taken that all into account and have tried to space all the visits accordingly. Twilight Town is currently still off the map and can't be visited via normal travel, but is, as shown in this chapter, able to be accessed through the Corridor of Darkness (aka that portal Nobodies use to go between Worlds).

Twilight Town is currently still off the map and can't be visited via normal travel, but is, as shown in this chapter, able to be accessed through the Corridor of Darkness (aka that portal Nobodies use to go between Worlds).

I wasn't sure if I alluded to it enough, so to clarify, yes, it _is_ Xion that Olette was referring to when the Twilight Town gang investigated the moans in the tunnel. There is a reason, of course, as to why I have allowed the two of them to meet, and it all points to just how huge Olette's role will be in the future.

And though I only briefly described one of Olette's entries in that journal she's keeping of their returning memories (that offhandedly refers to some events from Day 152 from 358/2 Days), I've been seriously considering making a side-story to go more in detail with it and all the other memories I can't find a way to sneak in here. Since the gang and Axel/Roxas have come in contact a lot in that came, I've come up with a number of meetings that could've happen that I would love to share. We'll see, haha. If you guys are interested, I'll definitely take a crack at it!

And as promised, I put in the full scene of the day of Olette's kidnapping, flushing out the full scene I only touched on in Roxas's memory in Chapter 14, minus some of the overlapping that I've already went into detail with in Chapter 7. Roxas's name is not mentioned in this memory because the Twilight Town gang has yet to remember his name. Any of you who have played 358/2 Days will know the significance of the seashell and thus should be able to figure out where in the timeline this memory falls in.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until next time!

**Please don't forget to review and answer my question regarding Roxas~!**


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